Chained
by Kirikizu
Summary: Werewolf Fic. Sasuke was captured by hunters when his family was killed, but the kindness of one of the hunters daughters makes the world so much brighter. He wants to be the best he can for her, but how can he do that while being labeled a monster? Sasusaku
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! Before reading I'd like to warn you guys that Sasuke and Sakura will be slightly OOC. The biggest change would be to Sakura's parents. I kept their names but changed their looks and their personalities to fit this story. I can't have Kizashi with pink hair and still take him seriously.**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Fire and smoke; that was all little Sasuke could see. All around him flames crackled and wood creaked and crumbled. The pungent smoke burned his nose and made his eyes water.

'_Run! Escape and hide!' _

His mother's worried voice repeated over and over in his head. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him and headed toward the forests that surrounded his family's compound.

Earlier that night, it had seemed like any ordinary evening. His relatives walked between the houses chatting as the returned home from work or just spending the day in town. To an outsider it looked like any other close knit family. But the Uchiha clan was actually a pack of werewolves that controlled the surrounding territory. Their pack was a relatively large one and no one dared bother them with the strength that they wielded. Until now.

Hunters had snuck up on them and caught completely off guard. No one knew how they hadn't caught their scent beforehand or how they managed to get so close undetected. The first shot was extraordinarily loud as it broke the quite hum of night. It was instantly followed by a dull thud as a body collapsed, lifeless, a bullet hole through their head.

The hunters flowed in, moving swiftly coming out from behind the buildings guns blazing. Their heads were covered by hoods with a cloth covering the bottom portion of their face. More shots were fired and cries of pain were heard. The silver bullets tore through skin and bone, its toxic qualities eating away at their bodies.

The surprise quickly wore off as the wolves defended themselves. Loud snarls and growls accompanied the gun shots as clothes were torn and fur and fangs replaced what had first appeared to be normal human bodies.

Sasuke had been sitting in the living room with his parents and brother when the first shot was fired. His elder brother and father had immediately rushed outside to see what was going on. His mother had wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Sasuke began to tremble as the noise of the bloody fight outside began to escalate.

The sound of their front door being kicked in caused both he and his mother to jump. He was quickly ushered to the back door and told to run. He stood frozen stiff and stared at his mother, his eyes wide with fear. She smiled sadly at him and bent down to hug him tightly. She kissed the top of his head and said she loved him. With a final squeeze she pushed him away slightly telling him to run. The last time he would see his mother was her turning to face the three hunters that entered their house. In the blink of an eye, the beautiful woman that was Mikoto Uchiha was replaced with a large black wolf that was determined to defend her youngest son until her last breath. Sasuke finally forced his legs to move when he saw his mother pounce on a hunter that had just rounded the corner.

The hunters had set the houses on fire, attempting to burn anyone who tried to hide inside. As Sasuke made his way towards the forest his way was blocked as a hunter stepped out of a smoking house and raised a gun towards him. He froze as he stared down the barrel of the rifle. As the shot was fired another wolf bounded from the shadows and sunk his teeth into the hunter's arms. The bullet grazed his arm cutting into the skin.

Sasuke yelped as the bullet tore through the flesh of his right arm and drew blood. The silver burned his skin and kept the blood from clotting. It was a minor wound and was no threat to his life; but it sure hurt like hell.

Sasuke didn't know who the wolf was, whether it be a cousin, aunt, or uncle, he couldn't tell. But he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to escape certain death a second time. As the two of them continued their scuffle, Sasuke took the chance to escape into the forest.

He passed by many bodies that were torn and ravaged lying in thick pools of blood. Some of them were his kin, both in human and wolf form. Their bodies were riddled with bullet wounds, arrows, or large gashes from the long knives that the hunters carried with them at all times. He also passed an occasional fallen hunter that had claw marks gouged deep into the bodies or had their throats completely torn out. The smell of blood in this part of the compound was even worse than the smoke, making Sasuke gag and cover his nose as he ran for safety.

After running through the underbrush for a few minutes he turned to look over his shoulder. He could see the dim orange glow of the fires. He slowed to a stop and watched the smoke rise above the tree tops.

Where was he to go? Should he find a place to hide and wait until the hunters left? What if they found him?

The last thought made him cringe. And more morbid thoughts brought tears to his eyes.

Was his mother alright? His father? Brother? Did anyone else get out?

Sasuke sniffed and wiped a few tears from his eyes. His family was strong that's why they had managed to survive in these lands for so many generations. They would surely fight off the hunters and come find him in the morning.

He lifted his head as a new noise reached his ears. Barking. The hunters brought dogs with them. Dogs were no match against a fully grown wolf, but they were brought along for one thing. Tracking.

The barking began to steadily get louder. Sasuke realized that they must have caught his scent and immediately turned and sprinted deeper into the forest.

Sticks tore at his skin and clothes and rocks seemed to jut out of nowhere trying to trip him. But Sasuke didn't slow his pace. He wished he was older. Being only 5 years of age he still was rather new to shifting. Like every werewolf he transformed during the full moon, but every other time took great concentration and control. He had managed it a few times, but now he was too nervous, too scared.

He could hear the barking getting steadily louder and quickened his pace. Sasuke nearly fell when he crashed into a shallow stream. The rocks were slick and the water freezing cold. It would slow his travel immensely but the water would hide his scent from the perusing hounds. After slipping and tumbling over his first few steps he fled downstream.

An hour later Sasuke finally left the shallow waters. His legs were soaked and his toes numb. But his travel in the stream had paid off. He hadn't heard the barking of dogs for quite some time, but he had remained in the river just to be safe. At a much slower pace he wandered the forest. He kept alert, listening for any signs of approaching hunters or family members.

Sasuke was exhausted. He didn't know what time it was but it was surely nearing midnight; if it hadn't already past. His legs were wobbly with exhaustion and struggled to hold up his body. The cut on his arm still burned, but at least the bleeding had finally stopped. His kind had remarkable healing abilities but it was hindered by silver.

Finally giving up, Sasuke made his way over to a rather large tree and curled up near its roots. He shivered from the cold and the pain. Someone would find him soon. His trick would have worked on some stupid dogs, but his family would surely find him once they had dealt with the hunters. With that reassuring thought he drifted off into unconsciousness.

* * *

A gun shot broke the quiet morning air, starling Sasuke awake. His head quickly whipped back and forth looking for any signs of danger. He breathed a sigh of relief when there seemed to be no one around.

But that sound meant that hunters were nearby. He had to get moving. In his haste to escape the night before he had gotten himself lost. Sure, he's been in the forest tons of times, but he was never alone before. In the past, he had always been with his family and was more focused on playing rather than memorizing his surroundings.

After dusting off the dirt and leaves that clung to his shirt he started running again, heading in the opposite direction of the gun shot.

He hadn't been running for more than a few minutes when he burst through a row of bushes and crashed into something. Sasuke let out a small grunt when he landed roughly on the ground.

"Owww…"

His head shot up at the sound. Lying next to him was a little girl. She appeared to be around the same age as he was, with bright pink hair that was tied up in a red ribbon that matched her dress and the greenest eyes he's ever seen. By her scent he could tell she was human. He had gone to town with his mother on multiple occasions and watched as she conversed with the humans. But he himself had never talked to one.

She sat on her knees and inspected her elbow that now adorned a scuff mark from her impact with the ground. She turned to him with a pout on her face, ready to scold him for knocking her down. But as soon as she got a good look at him she gasped. Sasuke was covered in small scrapes and dirt clung to his skin and torn grey shirt. Not to mention the blood stains on his sleeve from where the bullet wound was.

"Don't move!" she ordered. With her small injury forgotten, she jumped to her feet and ran off.

Sasuke's gaze followed her into a rather large house that was nearby. When she disappeared into the door he began to take in his surroundings. He was sitting in the girl's back yard. The light blue house sat on a neatly trimmed grass that was littered with the occasional toy. There were plucked flowers scattered in the grass around him. Apparently she had been out picking flowers before he interrupted her.

He hadn't planned on actually listening to her and staying, but by the time he regained his bearings she was back. The girl burst from her house with a first aid kit clutched tightly in her hands.

"Don't worry, I'll fix you right up!" she smiled happily. Sasuke sat there stunned as the little girl stuck a band-aid on his cheek. He hadn't even noticed the scratch there. "That looks like it hurts." The girl had leaned closer to him and was inspecting his arm. Sasuke flinched away when she raised a hand to touch it.

Seeing as he didn't want her to touch the wound she moved on to another scratch on his leg. She knew that when she had an oww-ies her mommy always put a band-aid on it to make it better, but she never had one as big as that. Her cute neon colored band-aids were too small for that.

Sasuke was unsure of what to do. He couldn't stay here, but this girl seemed nice. Maybe he could hide here until his family came to find him.

"I'm Sakura. Want to be friends? What's your name?" Her closeness was making Sasuke nervous causing him to look away from her, ignoring her questions. "Don't be shy," she smiled sweetly at him. Sasuke glanced at her and couldn't help but give her a small smile in return. She was a bit noisy, but really nice.

"Sakura what happened?" a shout came from the house. A woman exited the house and scanned the yard for her daughter. She was a pretty woman with light grey eyes and light pink hair that reached her lower back. The woman had an apron decorated with a floral pattern wrapped around her waist. Their similar appearances must make her the girl's mother. She became worried when the little girl came barreling into the house and ran out with the first aid kit. She was closely followed by a taller man with short grey hair and had similar eyes to the young girl. But the thing Sasuke noticed the most was that he used a cane and walked with a limp even if he seemed rather young.

Mebuki Haruno gasped at the sight of the battered child and began to take a few hurried steps toward them. But the cocking of a gun and her husband's sharp tone stopped her. "Don't move. Sakura come here," Kizashi Haruno growled.

Sakura was confused as to why her daddy was acting that way. She gasped when he raised his pistol and pointed it at the boy.

Sasuke began to tremble as he stared down the barrel of another gun, not 24 hours after the last one was pointed at him. If he turned and tried to run he would most definitely get shot in the back. But to his surprise the little girl next to him threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, putting herself between him and the gun.

"Sakura get away from him! He's dangerous!" her dad shouted.

She hugged him tighter and shouted back, "No! He's my friend."

Gently Sasuke raised his hands and pulled her arms from around his neck. She looked at him large confused eyes. Now that he was free he stepped away from her and looked back at the man. It was strange, he didn't even know this girl for more than a few minutes but during that time she had been extremely kind to him and even shielded him from a gun. He was practically dead anyway, the least he could do was keep her out of harm's way.

Sakura whimpered but didn't move to hug him again.

"Honey," Mebuki said quietly and raised her hand in an attempt to lower her husband's gun.

"He's one of them!" Kizashi snapped. "The hunt was last night. Just look at the state of him; he must have escaped. If they let some cub slip by them the quality of the hunters they sent must have been pretty low."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man and growled softly exposing small canines. He was afraid but he didn't like the tone the man had taken when we spoke of his family.

So these guys were hunters. His eyes flickered to the girl next to him. She certainly didn't seem too made of the right stuff to be hunter.

"But he's still young, and no threat to us," his wife argued, "Let's take him to the council and let them decide what to do with him." She didn't want her husband shooting the seemingly innocent boy in front of their daughter. It would scar her for life.

Sasuke was confused. What else would they do with him besides kill him? They were hunters, that's what they did. But it worked, and Kizashi slowly lowered his gun, but didn't put it away.

"Fine, go call them. But if he tries anything he's dead," Kizashi said. Sasuke and Kizashi exchanged heated glares.

Mebuki hurriedly headed back to the house and called for her daughter.

Thousands of turbid thoughts swirled around Sakura's mind as she witnessed her daddy nearly shoot the boy she was trying to help. 'One of them', that's what her father had called him. Did that mean he was one of those scary monsters that she had heard stories about? But he didn't looks scary or dangerous. In fact he had looked down right scared. She looked worriedly at the boy one last time before the headed back to the house towards her parents.

"Sasuke."

She turned around as the boy spoke up quietly. "My name is Sasuke." He broke eye contact with her dad to look at her.

A big grin broke across her face. She waved goodbye at her new friend before running the rest of the way into her house.

'Sasuke,' she thought happily. She wasn't really sure what was happening around her, but she had a good feeling about everything. She had just made her first friend.

When Sakura and her mother disappeared into the house Sasuke was left alone in the yard with Kizashi. It was obvious that the man would rather blow his head off rather than agree to what his wife wanted. But what did she want? She mentioned something about a council. He couldn't imagine any reason why a group of hunters would want to keep him alive.

"What happened to my family?" Sasuke finally built up enough courage to ask.

The older man shrugged, "Not sure. Haven't heard any news yet." Sasuke wasn't sure if he could trust this man. But he hadn't truly given an answer. There was still hope.

After a few minutes a few hooded men arrived. They each held a rifle at the boy who remained seated in the grass. They spoke in hushed voices with Kizashi before carefully approaching the boy.

Sasuke growled at them as the men got closer to him. One of them cocked their gun and pointed it at him. "Behave or else," he threatened. Sasuke gave them another small growl before giving up and just scowled at them. One of the men bent down with something metallic held tightly in his grasp. It was a thick steel collar with strange dark red symbols on it.

Sasuke began backing away from the men. There was no way they were going to put that thing on him. But before he had taken more than a few steps on of the other hunters grasped his shoulders and held him in place.

That resulted in causing Sasuke to start thrashing wildly trying to break lose. But he wasn't strong enough to overpower and adult. He shivered as the cold metal touched the skin of his neck.

The sharp click of the collar locking shut was the starting point of a new life for Sasuke.

As soon as the metal clicked shut around his neck Sasuke felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"C'mon," one of the men grunted. He yanked on the collar making Sasuke stumble. Upset, he tore away from the man and snapped at him, nearly taking he man's finger off.

All of a sudden there was a shooting pain throughout his body. He cried out in pain and sunk to the ground, his body curled protectively into the fetal position. He couldn't tell exactly where the pain had originated, but his whole body shook and trembled with pain.

As soon as the pain started it began to dissipate. The symbols on the collar that were flashing bright red began to fade. In one of the hunters hand was a small red orb with grey swirls in it. The orb was no bigger than a grape and flashed in time with the runes on the collar. Sasuke gasped, drawing in great gulps of air. He was pulled violently to his feet by one of the men. "Don't even think about trying something like that again." Wanting to avoid another experience like that, Sasuke marched between the men as they circled him.

Kizashi watched as they took away the little menace. He wasn't sure what the council had planned, but it had better be worth keeping the mutt alive. When they turned a corner and disappeared out of sight Kizashi turned away and entered his house.

* * *

Sasuke was thrown in the back of a car and taken into town. He recognized some buildings and landmarks as they whizzed by, but he couldn't tell where they were headed. The car suddenly stopped near the back entrance of the local police station, the secret headquarters for the Hunters Association. He was quickly ushered out of the car and moved to a side door.

The door appeared to be made of thick metal with a small keypad next to the frame. One of the men quickly typed in a series of numbers. The keypad made a high pitched beep followed by the clinking of several locks as they were undone. It swung open easily revealing a small hallway lit by dim yellow lights.

The man who unlocked the door entered the dimly lit hallway. Sasuke felt a slight nudge in the middle of his back and followed after. They travelled down the hall in silence, the only noise being their footsteps. After turning down a few branching corridors and entering more locked doors they came to a room filled with jail cells.

There was a row of cells that lined each wall. All the cells were currently empty, but some of them had dark stains on the floor and walls that looked suspiciously like blood. Sasuke was forced into one of the cells. Before he could even turn around he heard the lock click shut.

Without saying anything the men walked out shutting the door behind them. Once the door closed Sasuke clutched the thick bars and tugged. They remained firmly in place and didn't even creak when he pulled on them. He was expecting that, but there was no harm in trying. Not having any other options, Sasuke walked over and sunk into one of the corners pulling his legs to his chest. He rested his forehead on his knees and wrapped his arms around them. There was no way he was going to be found now. All he could do was wait as his fate was decided by people who despised him.

* * *

By that afternoon Sakura was constantly bugging her parents about the whereabouts of her new friend. She thought that he would be brought in the house after her daddy had finished talking to him. Her mommy always invited their friends in for a snack. But even after her daddy came in her friend wasn't with him.

Maybe he had something to do? She kept telling her parents that she was worried about her friend. She may have helped him with some of his smaller cuts, but the one on his arm was too big for her to care for. Were his booboos well taken care of?

"Are you sure he's okay?" she asked her mom that night as they ate their dinner.

"Yes yes, he's fine," Mebuki said exasperatedly.

Sakura grew quiet for a few moments before asking something that had been bothering her all morning. "Mommy? How come Sasuke came out of the forest? Didn't you say there were monsters in there?"

Kizashi and Mebuki shared a nervous look. They had told their daughter about the different supernatural creatures that roamed the world and she knew that it was her father's job to eliminate the ones that were a threat to the humans.

"Remember we told you about the werewolf pack that lived nearby?" Sakura nodded to answer her mother's question, but she didn't quite understand what she had brought them up. "The other hunters went after them last night. Your friend is one of them. He must have escaped somehow."

Sakura gasped her eyes going wide. Sasuke was a werewolf!? But he didn't seem like those scary monsters that her parents told her about. Other kids often made fun of her looks and ignored who she really was, maybe it was the same thing for him. All the kids she knew made fun of her pink hair and slightly larger than normal forehead. She was considered a freak and a weirdo; no one wanted to play with her. Just because he was a wolf doesn't make him a bad person right?

"When can I see him?" Sakura was anxious. She never really had a friend before and wanted to give him a chance. They were the same, prejudiced against because of that they looked like and what they were. "What happened to his family?"

Her mother struggled for the answer. Stumbling over words before Kizashi spoke up, "They were most likely hunted down. You know of our job to protect the people from monsters like them. He and his family were a huge threat."

Sakura stared up at them with wide eyes. If they were hunted like the other monsters in the stories she heard then it meant that his family was dead. She was so young, but she vaguely understood the concept of death. "He must be really lonely. I want to see him!"

Her parents shared a worried look. They had called the council and asked about the wolf cub they had turned in and found that he was going to be kept in captivity. They planned on taking blood samples and keeping him alive to study him. A live specimen. The boy was quiet and didn't speak. They tried to give him food and water but he refused them. If they wanted to keep him alive they needed him to eat.

"We can take you to see him tomorrow," Kizashi answered. The only time they had heard him speak was when he told his name to their daughter. Sasuke was it? He may be a monster but he was young, perhaps being around someone else his age would put him more at ease.

Sakura broke into a huge grin. She could see her friend tomorrow! She quickly gobbled up her food and dashed away giggling.

Mebuki smiled, this was the first time in ages that she had seen her only daughter so happy. "Just don't let them get to close. You can't trust those things," Kizashi said. Even he had noticed that Saukra had been rather down lately. But if seeing that mutt made his daughter happy he would allow it. But he would make sure she was safe. "Keep him behind bars and muzzled." He gripped the thigh of his injured leg tightly under the table.

* * *

The next morning Sasuke had barely moved from his original position. His body was stiff from lack of movement and his wounds still throbbed. The night before the hunters had taunted him, telling him the news of his family, his pack. They were all slaughtered. There were no survivors. They hunters had burned the houses and killed any wolf that tried to escape. He was all alone now.

He felt sick. There was a gaping hole inside of him that was threatening to devour him. He just wanted to curl up to sleep and never wake up. Whenever he closed his eyes he could see the mutilated bodies of his family surrounded by raging flames.

Hunters came buy a few times dropping off food and talking to him. But everything around him was a blur and their voices formed incomprehensible buzzing. He was just existing, the faces of his family was swimming before his eyes.

To top it all off he was starving. His stomach gnawed at his insides and the smell of food only made things worse.

They had brought him food and water and left it at the edge of his cage. It smelled delicious, but he was afraid that the food and water was poisoned or drugged.

He heard the door to the room opening but remained where he was, with his head resting on his knees. "Hello there."

The tone of voice startled him. He was expecting the gruff voice of one of the men, but it was softer, a woman. He lifted his head to see who his new visitor was. Standing outside his cage was a rather large chested blond woman. She had her hair in two low pigtails and was wearing a white lab coat.

She knelt down and spoke to him in a soft voice, "How are you this morning?" Sasuke just stared unblinkingly at her. "I see you haven't eaten," she tried again. But she was still ignored. They had sent her to try to get the boy to eat, they needed him healthy not starved to death. After hearing how the boy was treated it was no wonder he didn't eat anything the men were giving him. They didn't physically harm him, but they oozed hatred and dislike.

She continued to talk to the boy in a soothing voice to try to get him to trust her a little. They had always wanted a live specimen to work with but everything the hunters managed to capture was nearly fully grown and dangerous. This was the first time they had captured a pup. They may not have another opportunity like this again.

But no matter what she did she couldn't get him to eat or even talk. She was never known for her patience and this brat was starting to get on her nerves. She was being polite and talking to him nicely, and all she got in return was a blank stare. The little bastard even refused to tell her his name.

"Aunty Tsunade!"

Both she and the boy turned to the door to see Sakura sprinting towards her with her mother and two startled guards followed her. Sakura was holding a small container with a puppy printed on the top of it.

Sakura threw her arms around the woman and hugged her in greeting. But she was pushed aside as the little girl looked through the bars. "How come Sasuke is in time out? Was he bad?"

"Sasuke?" Tsunade asked. The little girl nodded enthusiastically then cocked her head to the side as she waited for her aunt to answer her question. "No. He's in there because he's dangerous."

Sakura frowned. That was what her parents had said too, but she couldn't understand it. Sasuke wasn't dangerous. She only spent a few moments with him but he didn't seem dangerous at all. She had a good feeling about him. He was soft spoken and scared. When she had first seen him he was terrified and running for his life. If he was as dangerous and deadly as the adults seemed to think then wouldn't he have attacked her when they were alone?

"No he's not!" she stomped angrily. With a huff she turned away from her favorite aunt and turned to the cage see a very startled Sasuke. The next thing he noticed was the tray of untouched food and a full glass of water. She gasped the top of the container and pulled of the lid, revealing chocolate chip cookies. "My mommy normally makes me eat my dinner before I can have desert but you must really be hungry," she said and picked up one of the cookies and stuck her hand through the bars.

Tsunade looked on sadly. Her niece would be crushed when the boy snubbed her like he did to everyone else. But as she was about to stop her the boy stood up and took the cookie from her.

Sasuke held it in his hand and sniffed it curiously. It smelled alright. His reaction made Sakura laugh. "It's good I promise. I helped mommy make it this morning." She helped herself to one and smiled happily as she munched on the cookie.

Sasuke took a tentative bite and slowly chewed; it was good. Sasuke gobbled down the cookie making Sakura beam at him. He was licking the crumbs off his fingers when Sakura passed him another. "Thank you," he said and devoured the second cookie.

Tsunade and the guards gaped at the scene in front of them. Not only was the boy eating but he spoke too.

As her friend ate, Sakura's gaze wondered to the forgotten food. If he was so hungry they why wasn't he eating? Her curiosity led her to bend down and stick her hand through the bars and reached for the bread roll that sat on the tray. It looked alright, but maybe it tasted icky and that's why he wasn't eating.

Sasuke saw her reaching towards his untouched food and quickly grabbed her hand. "Don't!"

Instantly the guards raised their guns and pointed it at him. Sasuke's eyes flickered towards the men before focusing back on Sakura. "It's poisoned," he said and slowly released her hand. Sakura gasped and quickly withdrew her hand and gripped it to her chest.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and scoffed, "It's not poisoned. Why would we poison you? If we wanted you dead they would have just shot you?" She had to admit, for someone so young he was rather sharp for even thinking that the food may have been tampered with. "That food's cold and stale already, let's get you some fresh food. I promise the food is perfectly fine. I would hate to harm my favorite niece's friend."

At her order one of the guards went to open the cell while the other kept his gun raised at Sasuke to make sure he didn't make a run for it. When he pushed open the door and knelt down to pick up the tray Sakura dashed past him and into the cage.

The other occupants of the room gasped. Sakura was going to prove to them that their belief that Sasuke was dangerous was wrong. The guards instantly raised their guns but other than that no one dared move.

Sasuke knew that if he moved they guards would think he was going to harm Sakura and shoot him. Sakura was oblivious to the nervousness of the adults behind her when she moved to stand next to her friend. She dipped her head to see his arm. She frowned when she saw the caked on dried blood that indicated that the wound was ignored.

"Aunty Tsunade, I thought it was your job to help people with their booboos," she scolded.

Tsunade stumbled over her words for a moment before answering, "It is. But-"

"Then why didn't you help him," Sakura interrupted.

"Sakura come here," her mother tried to reason, "I know you think he's your friend but you barely had a chance to know him. What do you know about him other than his name?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke and smiled. Sasuke raised an eyebrow curiously at her. He was glad to have someone being so nice to him, but he couldn't understand the little girl's actions either. They barely even knew each other and she seemed so attached to him.

"I just have this really good feeling," Sakura continued to smile. She reached out to Sasuke and grabbed his hand. At first Sasuke felt uncomfortable as he stared at their intertwined fingers. The loneliness from losing his family came rushing back to him. He had no one now, but this girl who was still practically a stranger made him feel a litter better. Like the world hadn't totally deserted him. The cold feeling in his chest slowly disappeared and was replaced with a comforting warmth. He gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Come here girl." One of the hunters had entered the cell was slowly approaching them and extended his hand out to reach for Sakura.

Sasuke couldn't trust these people, they had killed his family. If anyone was dangerous it was them! They were the murderers! He pulled Sakura behind him and growled angrily at the man making him instantly retreat. He felt his canines elongate slightly and his eyes bleed to a blood red color. He was useless when the hunters came for his family, but he was going to protect his new friend. He was going to protect Sakura.

The guard jumped and took a step back. The kid had been passive so far, this was the first sign of aggression that they had seen. While the Mebuki paled and a gasp past her lips, she was afraid for her daughter. Instead of fearing for Sakura, Tsunade grinned. She rested her hand on the guards shoulder and pulled him back.

"Sasuke," she calmly addressed, "My name is Tsunade. I'm a close family friend of Sakura's. Don't worry we won't harm her." Sasuke stopped growling but his eyes remained red.

Sakura was a bit startled when Sasuke started growling, but she didn't move from his side. She stepped up to his side and noticed his red eyes and stared in wonder. Maybe he could teach her how to make her eyes change color?

The guards looked skeptical and Mebuki was still fidgeting nervously, she couldn't wait for her daughter to get away from the boy. But Tsunade looked perfectly fine, in fact she seemed rather excited. "Sakura, how would you like it if Sasuke stayed with you?"

**A/N: Hope you all liked the first installment of Chained!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Early update, my Christmas present to you all. Happy Holidays!**

**Chapter 2**

Kizashi rubbed his temples as he slumped against the kitchen table as he spoke to Tsunade over the phone. Apparently that crazy woman thought that it was best for that kid to stay with them. "We can't have a mutt running around free. I refuse," he said.

"You can't keep his kind cooped up in a cage. If we want to study him properly he needs to be able to breath fresh air and run around outside. Kind of like a new puppy. And to be perfectly honest he wasn't getting the best treatment there. He also seems very attached to your daughter." He could practically hear the amusement oozing from her tone.

He slammed his fist angrily on the table. "Is that supposed to make me feel better!? I don't want that _thing_ anywhere near Sakura!" There was nothing funny about this situation.

"He doesn't interact with anyone else. He accepts food from her and responds when she talks to him. And don't worry, he still has the collar on if he tries anything funny just zap him." She had a point there. "I already spoke to the rest of the council and they agreed that the child will stay with you and Mebuki. We'll be by stopping by regularly to check on him and possibly take some blood samples."

If the council had already decided it then it was out of his hands.

"When are they coming back?" he asked, referring to his wife, daughter, and their new…thing.

"By this afternoon. We need to get him cleaned and patched up first," Tsunade replied.

"Fine," Kizashi grunted and abruptly hung up.

Tsunade pulled the phone away from her face with a smirk on her face once the dial tone began. She pocked the phone and turned to the rest of the residents of her office. They have moved from the cell at the police station to her personal office on one of the higher floors of the hospital. Mebuki stood nervously near Tsunade's desk and watched her daughter interact with the boy that was going to be living with them.

Earlier Sasuke had been pushed into a shower room and given time to scrub the dirt and blood from his body. They had sent some of the other organization's workers into town to buy some clothes for him. Now that he was clean and freshly clothes he looked much more civilized. If they didn't know it, they wouldn't be able to tell that he was a werewolf.

Sakura was sitting next to Sasuke on the rather large plush couch that hugged the wall of Tsunade's office. The young girls bombarded Sasuke with questions, ranging from what his favorite color was, to if he could he grow a tail.

At first his answers were short and quiet, but he began to get used to her chatter when the questions didn't stop. He had his head lowered and only made eye contact with her occasionally. He was still rather shy but that didn't seem to stop Sakura.

"You really can grow a tail?!" Sakura shouted excitedly. Sasuke gave her a small nod and smirked as he eyes widened. After a moment of concentration there was a bushy black wolf tail swishing slowly behind Sasuke. "That's so cool! Can I touch it?" Sakura raised her hand wanting the grasp the furry appendage.

"Sakura!" Mebuki gasped. How can her daughter feel so comfortable with that boy? He wasn't some tame pet he was a monster.

Her cry had grabbed both kids attention causing them both to turn towards her, Sasuke's tail flicking Sakura's face in the process. The contact made Sakura laugh and press her hand to her cheek where his tail and brushed.

Personal boundaries and her mother's panic, forgotten, Sakura reached forward and stroked Sasuke's tail. The contact made him jump a little and his tail fluff up in surprise. "Did that hurt?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"No, I just wasn't expecting it," Sasuke said. Normally physical contact didn't really bother him. He used to wrestle with his brother all the time and enjoyed the smothering hugs his mother used to give him. Even his relatively strict father would give him a pat on the head or even a rare hug when he did something that he was proud of. But it was completely different with strangers, where he wanted to avoid all contact when possible. Unfortunately, Sakura seemed to thrive on touch. She wanted to hold his hand occasionally while they walked or played, poked him when she thought he wasn't paying attention. And now she seemed to enjoy petting him.

Mebuki cupped her face in her hands as she watched her daughter laugh loudly and continue to pet Sasuke's tail. "All of my hair is going to turn grey with worry," she moaned.

Tsunade laughed, "Is that what happened with Kizashi?" Her joke was enough to being a smile to the panicky woman's face. "I think you are all freaking out for no reason." When she received a shocked and confused look from Mebuki she was prompted to continue. "Wolves and even werewolves are social creatures. It is possible for some to live on their own, but it is difficult. Now that he's alone I assume that he's bonding with your daughter because he has no one now and is looking for a new pack. I don't think he's doing it intentionally; its instinct."

"But why her?" Mebuki asked. "She's young and naïve. I'm afraid he's going to harm her."

"He's young to you know. He probably chose her because she was the first person to be kind to him. He just went through a very traumatizing experience and needed some support and she was there for him. Wolves are very loyal. I think she is very lucky that he picked her." Tsunade paused and turned to look at the two kids. "If she becomes his new 'pack' then he's going to do everything he can to protect her. We already witnessed a glimpse of that when he thought the guard was going to take her away."

"You seem so confident," Mebuki groaned and raised her had to rub her temple. She could feel a headache beginning to set in.

"Don't look so down Mebuki," Tsunade smiled and placed her hand comfortingly on the other woman's shoulder. "If anything goes wrong," she trailed off and reached into her pocket. She dropped a red crystal into Mebuki's hand. It was the crystal that activated the collar. "I don't really think you need it but just in case. This one is a prototype so try not to use it too often, we don't want to accidently fry him."

Tsunade had been studying werewolves and other supernatural creatures for years. She knew that Sasuke most likely would have faded and died if he hadn't bonded with Sakura. It was true that they could survive on their own, but most lone wolves were fully grown. There was a very low chance that a pup could make it on their own. There was no way he was going to attack her. But no one else seemed to understand that.

* * *

When they returned to Sakura's home the air was thick with tension. Kizashi kept his gaze focused on Sasuke who was sitting on the floor of their living room. Sakura sat next to Sasuke and busied herself playing wither her dolls. Sasuke remained motionless as he watched her play. He would give her brief short answers when she picked up her head to talk to him before going back to playing. Sasuke could feel Kizashi's eyes boring into his back. He felt really uncomfortable in a hunter's house, but this was also Sakura's home so he would stay here.

"Dinners ready," Mebuki called from the kitchen. Sakura quickly threw her doll onto the couch and scampered into the kitchen. Sasuke stood to follower her but was stopped by a disgusted Kizashi.

"You aren't allowed at the table," he growled and walked into the kitchen after his daughter. Sasuke glared at his retreating back and slowly followed.

Once in the kitchen, he saw her happily eating her dinner while her mother passed her father a plate. They looked so happy. Sasuke's stomach clenched tightly as he remembered his own family. He envisioned his mother, father, and brother sitting at the table, waiting for him. He clenched his teeth angrily and furiously whipped the tears that had begun to gather in his eyes.

"Sasuke?" He dropped his hand and tried to pretend that he wasn't crying. He looked up to see Sakura now standing in front of him with a bowl of food in her hands. Sasuke bit his lip and looked away from her, ignoring the food she offered. "It's okay to miss them you know. But they wouldn't want you to be so sad." Sakura knew exactly what was bothering him even if he didn't say it. When she learned of his family's death she felt so bad for him. Sakura couldn't begin to imagine her life without her parents, and now Sasuke was left with much less. Not only were his immediate family dead, but every aunt, uncle, and cousin was gone too. He was completely alone in the world.

She placed the bowl on the ground and ran back to the table to get her food. She ignored her father's protests and moved to sit next to Sasuke. If Sakura could have her way, Sasuke would never have to be alone again.

Sasuke whipped his eyes one more time before sitting down and picking up his bowl. "Don't worry Sasuke," Sakura whispered between bites so that her disapproving parents wouldn't hear, "I'll be with you from now on so you won't be lonely." Sasuke couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face.

* * *

The town was fed lies about the sudden deaths of the Uchiha family. They were told that late in the night one of the houses caught fire causing the whole community go up in smoke. The Uchiha's were a very close knit family and hardly interacted with the other people who lived around them. The tragedy was heartbreaking but the family wouldn't be missed by many.

After a few more days of living with the Harunos, the awkwardness began to fade. Kizashi still treated him harshly but now chose to ignore him whenever possible. Mebuki would speak occasionally to him but he could see how tense her body became whenever she was close to him. She still wasn't comfortable with him. But Sasuke didn't really care what they thought of him. But Sakura was ecstatic that her new best friend was living with them. They were practically inseparable much to her parent's disapproval.

Sasuke would show signs of depression occasionally when he reminisced about his family. But Sakura made sure that she was there for whenever these incidences occurred. Slowly they began to happen less and less. He still missed his family greatly but it was getting easier to cope.

Sakura had just started kindergarten so Sasuke was left at home while she went to school and her parents went to work. Her mother worked in the hospital with Tsunade, but she worked more with the regular patients and rarely saw to the hunters that would sometimes come in with what most nurses and doctors would think were 'peculiar' injuries. He didn't know what her father did and he didn't particularly care. He knew he was a hunter but most of them also had a day job to blend in with the community.

For the time being he was sleeping on the couch in the living room with his clothes kept in a cardboard box. They had a small building that resembled a shed that was supposed to be a workroom for Kizashi that was built in the corner of the yard, but it was being mostly used for storage. They were going to get it fixed up and cleaned so that Sasuke could live in it. Kizashi would have just chucked him into the dingy old room but Mebuki was against it. While she didn't feel quite comfortable with Sasuke but he was only a child and she couldn't do that to him.

While they were at work and Sakura was at school they had other members of the hunter's association come over and watch hm. They were also helping out with modifications to Sasuke's new 'house'. They would occasionally pop in to check on him to make sure he wasn't causing any trouble. But after a while they dubbed it a waste of time. Sasuke wouldn't really do much of anything. He would sit around, take naps, and play with the small blue ball that Mebuki had bought him.

This was starting to become routine and Sasuke was starting to get extremely bored. The most exciting part of the day would be when Sakura came home. She was so excited to be starting school and would come home and share recollections of her day with her parents and Sasuke while they ate dinner. Sasuke was allowed to sit at the table after Sakura kept sitting on the floor with him. Her parent's listened intently with cheery smiles on their faces. But Sasuke was the only one to notice that she hadn't mentioned any new friends that she made. For someone that thrived from being around others it was rather odd. All the things she talked about were things she did and they were almost always things done on her own. He was the only one to notice the sad gleam in her eyes as she picked at her food.

One night when dinner was over and Sasuke and Sakura were sitting in the living room he asked her something that had been bothering him for the past few days. "What's wrong?"

His sudden question startled her from the picture she was coloring. "What do you mean? I'm fine," she said confusedly.

"You don't look happy," Sasuke said. "Aren't you enjoying school?"

Sakura's eyes widened, she didn't think anyone would notice, much less Sasuke. She dropped her gaze and frowned, "When I first started school I was so excited. I would get to make a ton more friends." Her eyes started to water a little. "I try to play with the others, but they only make fun of me. They say I'm a freak because I have pink hair and a big forehead." She pressed her hand to the top of her head to try to use her bangs to hide her forehead.

Sasuke sat there shocked. He had wondered why she had stopped wearing the red ribbon in her hair, but he never would have guessed she was getting bullied. He quickly stood up and ran to her room. His sudden movement had caught the attention of Kizashi, who was reading the paper in the kitchen. By the time Kizashi had reached the door way to see what he was up to, Sasuke was already running back to the living room with Sakura's ribbon in his hand.

Sakura sat there confused as Sasuke held out her ribbon. "Don't listen to them. Just because you look different doesn't mean you're a freak," he said quietly, "Don't try to hide your face just because of them. You're pretty."

Sakura was stunned. She took the ribbon from his hand and threw her tiny arms around him in a hug. She never felt so happy in her entire life. Sasuke stood there awkwardly for a moment before slowly returning her hug.

Kizashi stood there and glared at the sight before him, the red gem clutched tightly in his hand. He was just waiting for Sasuke to mess up so he could use it. No matter what Tsunade and Sakura seemed to believe he would never trust that beast.

* * *

The next morning Sakura had asked her mother to put her hair up in her ribbon again. She wasn't going to let those other kids bother her today, not after what Sasuke said. While they were leaving Sasuke sat by the front window and watched as their family car disappeared around the bend.

Sakura had mentioned that her school was a short ride away and Sasuke was fairly certain that he could just head in that direction and pick up her scent. After what she had told him the night before he wasn't about to let her keep getting bullied.

The hunters that stopped by the house merely glanced at him before getting to work on the small house in the back. He hung around for a few hours just to make sure that the hunters weren't expecting anything. Over the past few days he noticed that as the day went on they checked on him less and less.

After they checking on him one more time, Sasuke quickly arranged some pillows and blankets to make it appear that he was taking a nap at a quick glance. He quietly opened the front door and ran down the street.

He ran for a few blocks, frequently lifting his head to try to catch a Sakura's scent. Cherry blossoms with a hint of strawberries. It was something that was engraved in his brain, he would never forget her scent. He came to an intersection and tried to catch her scent. He frowned as cars zoomed past him on the road.

The pungent exhaust from the vehicles were smothering all other scents making it really difficult to smell anything else. As he stood at the intersection a slight breeze ruffled his hair.

There! The wind had brought along the smell he had been searching for. It was very feint, but it was definitely her. He instantly turned down the street and broke out into a run.

After following her scent for another few blocks he found the location of her school. There was a bunch of kids playing in the playground in the back of the school that was enclosed by a simple chain-link fence. Sasuke peered between the metal that made up fence and looked around for Sakura. He easily spotted her sitting off to the side under one of the trees, drawing figures in the dirt with a broken stick.

He sighed in relief, by the looks of it her day was going well. But everything seemed to go downhill from there. A group of kids began to approach her, making Sasuke tense. Sakura was soon surrounded by a group of three girls and two boys. The three girls were all wearing rather frilly shirts and cute shorts. One of the boys was thin and had a mousy face and large front teeth that made him look slightly like a rat and the other was taller and kind of chubby.

"Hey freak!" Sakura kept her head down and ignored their jeering. "Don't ignore us!" One of the girls shouted. Upset with the lack of response rat boy stepped forward and yanked the ribbon out of her hair.

That instantly got a rise out of Sakura. "Hey! Give that back!"

"Why? You don't need it, its better that those bangs are hiding that huge forehead of yours." The boy teased, waving the ribbon around in the air tauntingly.

"Well, maybe not. This way we end up seeing more of that weird hair," another girl laughed.

Sakura ignored their teasing and reached for her ribbon. "I said give it back." She swiped at the air tying to reclaim her ribbon. They laughed at her as she tried and failed to reclaim her ribbon. She tried to ignore them, but their taunting and teasing caused tears to form in her eyes.

The largest boy of the group stepped up and forcibly pushed her, knocking her to the ground. That was the last straw for Sasuke. In an instant he scaled the fence and was sprinting across the yard.

"Aww what's wrong? Look at you, what a crybaby," the larger boy that pushed her began to laugh. But he was cut off when he was tackled to the ground. The other kids jumped back in surprise and cried out in shock.

Sakura sat there dumbfounded. One moment she was being bullied, and the next she was watching Sasuke beat the shit out of the boy that pushed her.

After tackling the boy to the ground Sasuke began to brutally beat him. He couldn't hear the boy crying or the other bullies screaming over the blood that was roaring in his ears. Sakura had been putting up with these people since she started school and hadn't complained about it. What else had they done to her? Did they pull her hair? Call her more disgusting names? He would make them pay.

Suddenly Sasuke was forcefully pulled up, away from the boy who was bawling with his hands covering his bruised face. Accompanying the bruises was a bloody nose and a busted lip. Some of the caretakers had heard the screaming and crying and came running. The man restrained Sasuke, keeping both hands firmly on his wrists, while the woman knelt down next to the boy to check on him.

Still blinded by fury Sasuke turned his head and sunk his teeth into the caretaker's hand. He felt his fangs pierce skin as blood poured into his mouth. The man holding in cried out in pain and wrenched his hand back. As soon as he was free Sasuke ran at the boy, he wasn't done punishing him for hurting Sakura.

He skid to a stop when pink and green flashed before his eyes. Sasuke stumbled slightly trying to regain his balance from his sudden stop to avoid trampling Sakura.

Sakura looked at him with determined eyes. Her eyes were still rimmed with tears and her clothes still had dirt on them from when she was pushed to the ground.

After that rather frightening display Sakura now understood everyone's feelings toward Sasuke. He really was dangerous. Sakura knew that even if he was indeed dangerous like everyone believed, he would never hurt her. The only times she had seen him lash out was when he thought she was in danger.

She raised her hands and cupped his face. Just like the time where the guard had reached for her, his eyes were red. "It's okay," she whispered, "I'm not hurt." She raised one hand to cover his eyes, no one was supposed to know about him not being human, that much she understood.

He stood there slightly panting as the adrenaline slowly left his body. Sakura was alright, she hadn't been harmed to badly. After catching his breath for a few seconds he grasped the hand that covered his eyes. His eyes had faded back to their normal dark grey now that he had calmed down. He grasped her hand tightly in his and nuzzled the other that was still resting on his face. Sasuke growled slightly as he nuzzled her making Sakura giggle.

"What's going on?!" the panicked voice of another female caretaker reminded them of the things going on around them. Two more women and another man hastily ran over to them.

"Aki-sensei! We were trying to play with Sakura and then that boy started beating up Takao," one of the girls cried and pointed at Sasuke. The caretakers that just arrived took notice of the extra child in the yard for the first time. Some of the caretakers ushered the other kids away taking them back into the building leaving Sasuke and Sakura in the yard.

"Who are you?" one of the women, Aki, began to step toward Sasuke and Sakura.

"Careful, that kids nuts," the one that Sasuke bit grumbled as he gingerly held onto his bleeding hand.

"Don't worry Taro. Where did you come from?" she asked kindly. Sasuke shrugged and pulled Sakura behind him slightly, her hand still clasped in hers. "What you did wasn't nice. You need to apologize to Takao." That made Sasuke frown.

"He pushed her," Sasuke said simply.

The woman smiled at him. "I understand that you were trying to protect Sakura, but you can't go around hurting other kids. Come let's go inside." She reached out her hand to the two kids.

"We don't even know who this kid is," complained the Taro.

"Well we can't just leave him out here," she argued back.

"He's Sasuke!" Sakura said cheerfully and grabbed onto the Aki's hand. "He's my friend."

The rest of the day Sasuke was kept separate from the other children. Except for Sakura who refused to be separated from him. Mebuki was startled to find Sasuke there when she went to pick up her daughter.

"Sakura said that he's living with you. Foster kid?" Aki asked as she pushed Sakura and Sasuke towards Mebuki.

"Yes he is," Mebuki said still trying to get over the astonishment at seeing Sasuke there. How did he get there? What happened to the guards that were supposed to be watching him?

"You should enroll him too. He seems to keep the bullies away from little Sakura," Aki ruffled Saskue's hair making him grumble and shake his head.

"What? Bullies? She hasn't mentioned anything like that. She only ever talked about how much fun she was having," Mebuki gasped.

"I had a hunch that something was going on, but I could never catch the other kids in the act. Until today, when we had to pull Sasuke off Takao and Sakura was sitting in the dirt. That was proof enough for me that those kids had been bothering her." Sakura hid behind Sasuke and buried her face in the back of his shirt.

"Is the other boy alright?"

"Mostly just a few bruises but he did a number on poor Taro's hand. He's got some pretty sharp teeth," Aki chuckled.

Mebuki's eye widened and her face paled. "H-he bit him?!"

"Don't worry plenty kids go through the biting stage. It's nothing uncommon." Aki waved her concern away. But it Sakura's mother was worried about something entirely different.

"Um, well, I'll think about enrolling him too. I need to talk to my husband first. We were worried about exposing him to too many things too quickly."

Aki nodded in understanding. "Well, I hope to see you guys tomorrow. Bye Sakura, Sasuke.

After biding the friendly caretaker farewell the three of them made their way to the car in silence. Mebuki ushered them into the car quickly as she dialed Tsunade's number.

As soon as Tsunade had picked up on her end Mebuki was practically shouting into the phone," Tsunade! He bit someone!"

"Whoa relax, breath," Tsuande spoke slowly.

"But he bit one of the people working at Sakura's school. Is he going to…you know?"

"Don't worry," Tsuande laughed, "The only time they're contagious is during the full moon while in wolf form. But what was Sasuke doing at Sakura's school?"

"I'm not sure how he got there but apparently he was chasing off some bullies that were bothering Sakura." Mebuki was a bit skeptical about what she heard but she was somewhat glad that Sasuke had shown up.

"I told you didn't I? There's nothing for you to worry about he's going to be looking out for her from now on." She heard Tsunade sigh over the phone. "I know you're worried for your daughter, but I think Sasuke is trust worthy."

"But he's a-"before she could complete her sentence, Tsunade cut her off.

"And that makes him more loyal than any human kid. Sakura is lucky that he bonded to her." Mebuki was silent as she thought about what Tsunade had just told her and all the things she knew about werewolves. "I need to go now. Feel free to call if you have any more questions. But I don't want to hear any more about how you think he's going to eat your kid. Alright?"

"Okay," Mebuki sighed, "Thank you Tsunade." She still had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that Sasuke was trying to look after Sakura.

"Mommy?" Mebuki turned around in the driver's seat to check on her daughter. "Are we going home now?" Sakura asked. After hanging up the phone, her body maneuvered itself into the car on autopilot. They had been sitting in the car and the kids were starting to wonder why they weren't going anywhere.

"Yes, sorry I was just thinking," she smiled at her daughter and avoided eye contact with the other child in the car.

"Can Sasuke come to school with me tomorrow?" Despite being teased Sakura did enjoy school. And Sasuke being there made it all the better.

Mebuki sighed deeply before starting her car and answering her daughter that looked at her with bright expectant eyes. "Yes, he can." She was going to have a long talk with her husband, for he would not be happy with this.

And she was right. When they reached their house, Sasuke only managed to take a few steps away from the car when he felt searing bolts of pain shooting through his body. He wrapped his arms desperately around himself and began screaming in agony.

Sakura watched stunned as her friend collapsed to the ground for seemingly no reason. "Sasuke?!" she cried out worriedly and knelt down next to her friend. His screams and moans of pain caused tears to gather in her eyes. She didn't understand what was going on. She was afraid to touch him in case she only hurt him more. Then she noticed the collar around his neck was giving off a faint red glow.

The slamming of the house door drew her attention to her father who was stomping out of the house his cane in one hand and a glowing red orb in the other. She ignored his enraged expression and focused on the similarly glowing red crystal clutched tightly in his fist.

Even to someone as young as she was it was simple to put two and two together. Her daddy was hurting Sasuke! She ran to him, tears falling from her eyes. She pounded her tiny fists against her father's leg. "What are you doing daddy!? Stop it!"

"Dear, please stop," Mebuki hurried over and explained to her husband what had happened at the school.

Kizashi's grip loosened but the crystal remained activated. Sasuke's screams stopped but pain still wracked his body, causing soft whimpers to pass his lips. Leaving her mother to try to stop her father, Sakura ran back over to Sasuke and struggled to pull his head into her lap. She began to gently stroke his hair trying to comfort him.

"He may have escaped, but he did it for good reason," Mebuki said. She kept her voice low as she reasoned with her husband. "Apparently Sakura was getting bullied at school." That caught Kizashi's attention. "Sasuke somehow found the school and attacked one of the boys that was teasing her."

"Just because he stood up for her doesn't make him a hero," Kizashi said. He was grateful that he looked out for his little girl, but one deed wasn't going to change his view on his kind. The crystal lost its glow as he tossed it to his wife, who barely managed to catch it.

Now that the pain finally stopped Sasuke was able to take in deep gulps of air. He kept his eyes closed tightly as he waited for his body to recover. Cold droplets fell onto his face prompting him to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was Sakura's distraught face leaning over him. He whipped the few tears that had splashed onto his face as he forced himself to sit up.

Sakura made a small noise of protest as he rose. But he ignored her and raised his other hand to wipe the tears that streaked down her face. "I'm okay," he murmured. Every inch of his body was still screaming in agony, but she didn't need to know that.

He may have won over her mother, but her father was far from trusting him.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: To answer a guest reviewer's question about Sasuke having fangirls: I haven't really decided yet. Maybe when get older but I'm still thinking about it. I'm leaning more towards no just because he's extremely anti-social.**

**Chapter 3**

The next few days past rather smoothly. Sasuke was allowed to go to school with Sakura and the bullying seemed to stop. Mebuki had made Sakura promise to tell her if she was still getting bullied.

Sakura laughed, "Don't worry mommy Sasuke chases them all away."

When her husband wasn't looking she spoke with Sasuke. "Thank you for looking after my daughter," she whispered to him. Sasuke looked at her with a blank look and shrugged. Mebuki giggled slightly and ruffled his hair. He grumbled a little and shook his head messing up his hair even more. Sasuke wasn't a fan of touching and physical contact, but he still let Sakura pet and hug him with no complaints. At times he even seemed to enjoy it.

At school the group of bullies still occasionally poked fun at Sakura and made some snarky comments about Sasuke's collar. "It's so cute. He's like your puppy always following you around," they would tease. Sakura frowned at the rather bulky looking contraption. She didn't think it was necessary, but there was no way she could convince her parents to remove it.

"I don't care what they say. Don't let it bother you," he said when he saw her frowning at the collar.

After their comments didn't get the reaction they wanted the bullies began to back off. With those kids finally giving them some space Sakura began to truly enjoy school. She even began to meet some of the other kids. Sakura seemed to blend in well with the other children but Sasuke still rather anti-social.

But no matter how many people Sakura interacted with she always preferred to spend time with Sasuke.

Over the past few days Sasuke has been getting rather fidgety. It was getting closer and closer to the night of the full moon. At first he was rather depressed, this would be the first full moon since the massacre. The full moon was always a thing that his family had celebrated.

He always had a great time running around and playing with his family in the forest. That night would be another painful reminder of the family that he lost, but he would try to make the most of it. He was rather young to be hunting, especially on his own. Maybe he could convince Sakura to play with him.

The day of the full moon was a Sunday, so Sasuke and Sakura spent most of the day playing in the backyard. Sasuke had so much pent up energy it was difficult for him to keep still. Sakura had offered to play tag with him to help him run off some of his excess energy.

Sasuke was a lot faster than she was but they had a lot of fun anyway. He would run circles around her, cutting off her escape paths, before he would actually tag her. And when it was her turn to chase he would slow down to let her catch up.

It was Sakura's turn to be 'it'. She laughed as she pumped her legs to try to catch up to her friend who would occasionally look back at her with a small smirk on his face. With a burst of speed she closed the distance between then and caught onto his shirt.

Sasuke wasn't expecting her to suddenly catch up to him and stumbled when she pulled on his shirt. Her forward momentum and his lack of balance caused the two of them to tumble to the ground. They lay in a jumbled pile with Sasuke laying on his stomach and Sakura laying across his back. After a catching their breath the two of them began to laugh. Sasuke hadn't felt this happy since before the hunt that killed his family.

Their game was interrupted by the backdoor opening and three adults entered the backyard. Two of which were Sakura's mother and Tsunade. The other person was a rather tall pale man with greasy looking long black hair and gold eyes.

"Mommy! Aunty!" Sakura jumped up and ran over to her mother and aunt. Sasuke lingered behind, dusting the pieces of grass off his clothes. He watched as Sakura gave her mother a hug before attaching herself to her favorite aunt. His inspected the stranger cautiously before slowly approaching them.

"Hello Sasuke. How have you been?" Tsunade asked kindly.

"Fine," he answered with a shrug.

"So this is the boy?"

Sasuke looked at the man who had spoken. As they locked eyes, Sasuke felt a cold shiver travel down the length of his spine. Instinctively he took a step towards Sakura and tried to block her from the strange man's sight. He had a bad feeling about him, they would need to be cautious.

"This is Orochimaru," Tsunade introduced, "He works with me in the hospital. He specializes in medicines and diverse healing methods." Sasuke nodded in a greeting, his face remaining blank. Sakura on the other hand greeted him with a friendly wave and a smile. The two doctors were dressed in their casual clothes rather than their hospital getups.

Orochimaru returned her smile and reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a rather large needle. "If you don't mind, we're here for a blood sample." Sasuke stiffened a little and took a tentative step away from them. He stopped his retreat when he felt a hand rest gently on his shoulder. Looking up he saw Mebuki standing behind him.

She kneeled down and whispered quietly into his ear, "Don't be scared. It's just going to be a slight prick then it will be all over." Over the past few days Sasuke was beginning to trust Mebuki. After the incident at school, she started to be nicer to him. She spoke to him about his likes and dislikes to try to make him feel more comfortable in their home. They even began to hold their own conversations even when Sakura wasn't around.

With some slight hesitation, Sasuke held out his arm for the doctor. He winced slightly as the needle pierced his skin. Sasuke and Sakura watched in amazement as Sasuke's blood began flooding into the needle. When the syringe was filled Orochimaru gently pulled the needle out and capped it.

Sasuke lifted his arm that was bleeding slightly and sniffed at it curiously. Tsunade quickly slapped a bandage on the bubble of blood to prevent him getting it on his clothes and to stop the bleeding.

"Good boy," Orochimaru patted his head. Sasuke growled and glared at him. The doctor smirked at him and pocketed the needle before turning around and headed back towards the house.

"Are you excited for tonight?" Tsunade asked him. For the first time since she met him, Tsunade saw him smile. "Well, of course you are!"

Sakura grasped her aunt's hand and swung it between them playfully. "I am too. We're going to go play in the forest!"

Tsunade laughed while Mebuki paled. She and her husband were disguising what they were going to do with Sasuke tonight, and letting her daughter near him was definitely not one of the options.

Tsunade and Orochimaru hung around the house for a little while longer and the two kids went back to playing. They had some important matters to discuss and it would be better if Sakura and Sasuke weren't around to hear them.

"So what? Do you expect us to stay up and watch him the whole night?" Kizashi asked. He had joined the two doctors and his wife in their living room.

Tsunade shook her head, "We'll have more hunters positioned around the area. They were told not to shoot only if he shows signs of aggression." She didn't think that the needed anyone at all. But no one else shared her confidence and refused to let him wander around unchecked.

"What if he runs off?" Orochimaru questioned.

"If he runs he gets a bullet to the back. It's that simple," Kizashi replied.

* * *

It was getting close to sunset and Mebuki was calling for the kids. After a little coaxing they abandoned their game and ran back toward the house.

"Is it dinner time already?" Sakura asked.

"Soon, but there's something we're going to show you first," Mebuki said as her husband came to stand near her. The two of them were taken to the now completely renovated workhouse that would act as Sasuke's room.

Kizashi unlocked the door from the outside and pushed it open allowing Sasuke to walk in first. Inside was a single bed and a small dresser that was already filled with his clothes. There was still an open space that was going to be filled with a desk and chair in the near future. They had added a carpet that covered the entire floor except for a small space in front of the door to leave his shoes. The room also had two glass windows that lifted up to let the breeze in. One window faced towards the main house while the other faced away giving him a good view of the forest.

Sasuke was shocked. He wasn't expecting for them to go through so much trouble for him. He walked around the room curiously before turning to them and bowing, "Thank you."

Kizashi looked indifferent and Mebuki smiled warmly at him. While Sasuke continued to explore his room the Haruno family stepped out and headed back to their house.

"Make sure to come in for dinner," Sakura said with a huge grin on her face. Sasuke looked really happy with his new living area, and that made her happy. Kizashi shut the door with a click. While Mebuki led their daughter back to the house he pulled a key out of his pocket and inserted it into the lock on the door. There was no way he was going to allow that animal to run around free no matter what anyone said. Those creatures couldn't be trusted, especially on a full moon.

While Kizashi had a triumphant smirk on his face, Mebuki looked back at the small cabin with a sad expression. They only thing they knew is that on the night of a full moon the wolves were always active. Who knows how he would act. Would he lose his humanity and become a beast? Would he become feral like all the other wolves she had come across in the past? What would happen to the boy she was slowly getting to know? When her husband told her he was going to lock him up she didn't object. Her family's safety came before everything else.

* * *

After thoroughly exploring his new room Sasuke collapsed onto his bed. He laid face down for a moment, enjoying the softness. His life was finally taking a turn for the better.

As the sun sank below the horizon Sasuke could feel the energy building up in his body. He jumped up excitedly from the bed and made his way to the door. He tried to turn the knob and tilted his head in confusion when it didn't open. After jiggling the knob a few more times he realized that they had locked him inside.

He moved to the window but it was closed shut too. The lock was placed above the glass pane that would slide up when unlocked, out of his reach. Sasuke could feel the anxiety building as he paced around the room. He was being forced to spend the entire night stuck in this tiny room. What kind of sick torture was this?!

Sasuke didn't need to see he moon to know it was already shining high in the night sky. His heart began to beat rapidly in his chest as the transformation approached. He needed to get outside now! He threw his shoulder against the locked door in a desperate attempt to escape. The door rattled from the impact but didn't budge.

He breathed heavily and tore off his shirt, throwing it to the floor. The rest of his clothes followed as his body morphed into that of a wolf cub. He crouched down as his bones cracked and reshaped themselves. Fangs and claws grew in as black fur covered the entire length of his body.

He was larger than the average wolf cub but he still maintained a puppy-like appearance with a small muzzle and large paws that were slightly too big for his body. Sasuke's coat was completely black, the same shade as his hair. His eyes changed from their normal grey to the same shade of red that appeared when he was upset.

Sasuke took only moments to fully transform. He shook himself and flexed his muscles once the change was complete. Now that he was a wolf opening that door would be impossible. He growled angrily as he ran around the room aimlessly. He had to get out.

* * *

The moon was out and Sakura was getting ready to go out and put on her jacket. She was so excited to go see what Sasuke looked like as a wolf. She had seen his tail once and when she asked him if she could see it again he had told her it was rather embarrassing. She was disappointed but she refrained from asking him again.

While she ate dinner with her parents she questioned them about Sasuke's whereabouts. They had told her not to worry about him and that he was probably too excited about tonight.

"What are you doing?" Kizashi asked when he saw Sakura pulling on her jacket.

"I'm going to go play with Sasuke," she said cheerily. Kizashi's eyes widened and quickly shut the door that she was trying to open.

"It's time for bed. You can see him tomorrow." Kizashi didn't want his daughter anywhere near at kid, especially tonight.

"But I promised him that I would play with him."

Kizashi sighed exasperatedly, his daughter just didn't understand. No matter how many times he or his wife would try to explain the dangers of getting close to that boy she would shake off their warnings and continue to spend more and more time with the little beast.

A sad howl pierced the night air.

"You hear that?" Kizashi asked, "He's not human Sakura, he's a monster. You need to learn that he's different from you." His voice was stern and harsh. He needed his daughter to understand that Sasuke was very likely to turn on her.

Sakura turned to her dad and glared at him. "I do understand!" she shouted. "You're the one that doesn't get it. Sasuke treats me better than anyone else I ever met, and they're all humans." Her cheeks became flushed and red and her eyes began to water. "I know we're different. If that means that I can't be friends with him then I don't want to be a human, I would rather be a monster too!"

She turned around and ran into her room and slammed the door, leaving behind a stunned Kizashi. She jumped onto her bed and buried her face into her pillow. She knew that her parents worried about her but to her their fear was irrational. She could never see Sasuke attacking her, no matter what form he was in.

There was another howl. Why did he sound so sad and upset? When he was telling her about all the fun he used to have during the full moon he seemed so excited. Maybe he was sad because she was breaking her promise.

She quickly jumped off her bed and moved to her window. Her father wouldn't let her out of the house so she would have to sneak out.

Sakura quietly made her way to the edge of the forest. Sasuke had a good nose so he should be able to find her with no problem.

The sound of shattering glass made her jump. The window of Sasuke's new place was broken and a dark shadow stood amongst the glass shards. Her house door was thrown open and light spilled into the backyard. With the yard now slightly illuminated Sakura got her first glimpse of Sasuke in his wolf form. Before her stood a wolf cub that was about the same height as a medium sized dog. She stared curiously at him for a few moments before they were interrupted.

"Get away from her!"

Two gun shots were fired. The wolf ducked as one of the bullets whizzed past his ear. With one last look at the startled girl in front of him he took off into the forest.

"Wait come back!" she shouted and started to run after the wolf. Her parents frantic yelled made her pause and look back. Her mother was franticly trying to coax her back into the safety of her house and her father was holding onto his rifle to tightly that his knuckles were white. His old leg injury kept him from getting very far without his cane.

Part of her wanted to go back with her parents, but another part wanted to go after Sasuke. He was all alone now, and she promised to be there for him whenever she could. She wouldn't abandon him now especially after she promised him.

With a wave and a smile she took off into the forest.

* * *

She trampled around the forest looking for any signs of her friend. The moon provided enough light for her to see but was still a little scary. The light also created huge shadows that who knows what could be hiding.

"Sasuke!" she called, hoping to get some kind of response. She frowned when the only response she received were chirping crickets.

Finally after wondering deeper into the forest she heard rusting leaves coming from behind her. Sakura spun around with a huge smile on her face expecting her friend to finally show himself. Her smile fell when a raggedy looking dog stepped out of the bush. It was larger than Sasuke and had long yellowing canines. Its matted brown fur was caked with mud.

Sakura whimpered and began to backpedal as the dog approached her with an ugly snarl. Her courage spent, she turned around and bolted. The dog excitedly gave chase, its mouth beginning to foam at the thought of fresh meat.

She tore through the underbrush as she tried to escape. Twigs snagged her clothes and scratched her skin. The dog began to bark and snap at her heels as she ran.

Sakura picked up speed, desperate to escape the rabid animal that was chasing her. In her haste, her foot caught on a large root that jutted out of the ground. She landed on the ground with a dull thud. Ignoring the pain from the impact she quickly turned herself around to see the dog directly in front of her.

The dog prowled towards her snarling loudly, with saliva dripping from its jaws. Sakura let out a frightened scream as the dog lunged at her.

A black blur burst from the bushes and collided with the dog knocking it away from her. Sakura watched in amazement as Sasuke sunk his fangs in the dogs shoulder.

Sasuke was forced to let go as the dog whirled around and lunged at him. The two beasts snarled and snapped at each other. The dog managed to nick Sasuke's muzzle, drawing blood. They threw themselves at each other and became a tumbling mass of fur and limbs.

The dog's angry barks turned into pained cries when Sasuke finally got a good bite in. His jaws closed tightly on the dog's back leg. Fangs easily pierced the canine's skin and blood flooded into his mouth. Ignoring the coppery taste, Sasuke bit down harder. The forest was ringing with the dogs yelps as Sasuke tore into its leg.

If given the chance Sasuke would have probably broken its leg if it hadn't gone on the offensive in a desperate attempt to dislodge him. The dog twisted its body to get and Sasuke and lunged at him again.

This time the dog's jaws closed on his ear. The sudden pain caused him to release his grasp on the dog's leg. The two of them broke apart and glared at each other. Sasuke made sure to stand protectively in front of Sakura.

They were both covered in blood. Sasuke had only a few minor cuts and most of the blood on his fur had come from the other dog. The other animal was in a much worse condition. Its entire back leg was slick with blood that was still flowing from the deep gouges caused by Sasuke's fangs.

Sasuke's ears lay flat against his skull and he raised his lips to expose canines that still had blood clinging to them. The fur along his shoulders and back stood on end and his tail was fluffed out. Not wanting to fight anymore the dog lowered its head and tucked its tail between its legs. Not looking to kill the other animal, Sasuke watched as the dog limped away and disappeared back into the shadows of the forest.

After waiting for the dogs retreating footsteps to disappear, Sasuke finally turned to look at the crazy girl who had followed him into the forest. Sakura had watched the whole fight from where she had fallen and hadn't moved and inch.

Sakura was still too stunned to move. Everything had happened so quickly. It was hard to believe that the soft-spoken boy was the same thing that attacked the dog so viciously. She was scared. She knew what he was and it didn't bother her until now. Whenever she thought of Sasuke she imagined the little boy that occasionally had a wolf tail, nothing close to what she just witnessed. But he had done what he had to do in order to save her.

Sasuke stayed where he was unsure of how to approach her. She looked like she was about to run away again; he didn't want to scare her.

He crouched low to the ground and pressed his ears to the top of his head. He crawled along the ground slowly until he was directly in front of her.

Sakura tentatively reached forward and rested her hand on his head. When he didn't move she began to gently pet him.

Sasuke closed his eyes in happiness as his tail began to swish back and forth. As she got more confident Sakura began to stroke him a bit harder and scratched behind his ears. She smiled at him, all trepidation form earlier had disappeared. How could she ever be afraid of him?

He could tell by her more confident strokes that Sakura's fear was fading away. Now that he didn't need to worry about startling her, he sat up and licked her face.

"Ewww!" Sakura laughed. She pushed his muzzle away with one hand and wiped the saliva that clung to her face with the other. Sasuke backed off for a second and cocked his head to the side as she continued to wipe her face.

Sakura giggled as the got the last remnants of slobber off of her face. Now that she was clean, she looked at Sasuke who was patiently watching her.

Sasuke suddenly pounced, knocking her back to the ground and covered her face in playful licks. Sakura began howling with laughter as she tried to push him away and cover her face at the same time.

That was the scene that Sakura's parents and two accompanying hunters came across.

Sakura was lying on the grass laughing so hard that tears gathered in the corners of her eyes with a black wolf cub on top of her. The wolf's tail was swishing rapidly through the air as he repeatedly licked the girl he was sitting on top of.

"Sakura?!" Mebuki shouted worriedly. The Kizashi had left his rifle back at the house due to the fact that he needed one hand to use his cane and there was no way he could trek through the forest without it. The two hunters lifted their guns and pointed at the two figures, just as a precaution.

Sasuke stopped his assault and looked up. He had heard them approaching before they had actually appeared but he didn't really care about them at the moment. But the two guns pointed at him made him nervous. The fur along his shoulders stood on end, as he took a few slow steps off the still giggling girl.

Wiping the slobber of her face, Sakura sat up and looked curiously over her shoulder. A smile split across her face at the sight of her parents. "Hi mommy, daddy!" she waved innocently at them, completely forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be out at night.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" Mebuki asked tentatively. This was definitely not what they were expecting when they chased Sakura into the forest.

"Of course!" she smiled, "I got lost at first and some scary doggy chased me, but Sasuke saved me." Sakura leaned forward and scratched behind Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke's tail began to wag as Sakura continued to shower him with affection.

While Sakura's father and the other two hunters looked on with raised eyebrows and expressions of disbelief, Sakura's mother sighed heavily and let out a small smile.

No one made a move to raise their weapons when Sasuke knocked Saukra over began to lick her face again. The forest seemed much less scary when it was filled with her hysterical laughter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As the years went by Sasuke and Sakura remained close. Their lives seemed to reflect an average kid's childhood: go to school, make friends, and try to keep Sasuke from beating up the other kids. But there was a huge change once Sakura had her 12th birthday.

When she turned 12 Sakura was introduced to the hunter association and began her training in in basic weaponry soon after. These classes were held in the late afternoon and into the night. There she meet and befriended other kids that came from hunter families.

At first Sasuke was wary of her learning how to be a hunter and started to spend less time with her, until Sakura came home and threw a fit.

"You should hear the garbage that they're teaching us!" Sakura shouted as she burst into Sasuke's house. Sasuke was enjoying the quiet night by reading a book when Sakura barged into his room and threw herself face down on his bead.

She continued to grumble, her voice muffled by the mattress. "I can't hear what you're saying," Sasuke said not even taking his eyes of the book.

Sakura huffed and turned her watery eyes toward her friend. Sasuke faltered when he realized that she was on the verge of tears. "What's wrong?"

"It's those stupid teachers and the other kids too! Today we were discussing different kinds of creatures that we expect to come across. It was fine until we came to werewolves." Sasuke already knew where this was headed and let out a long sigh. "Bloodthirsty animals! Violent beasts! You should have heard the awful things that they were saying about your kind!"

"You know, that's normal coming from a bunch of hunters," Sasuke interrupted her, "You're the only one that doesn't think so."

Sakura puffed her cheeks out in defiance as her face began to turn red. "That's not true. Aunty Tsunade thinks so too."

"Well, that's two people out of the entire population." He argued and moved to sit on the bed next to her. He could care less what the others thought about him, he was used to them thinking badly of him. "Don't let it bother you." Sakura moved to place her head in his lap but she avoided eye contact and tried to hide the depressed expression that was beginning to form on her face.

After sitting for a few minutes in silence she spoke up again, "Did you know that there was a treaty between the hunters and your family?"

Sasuke looked down at her his curiosity peaked. He shook his head slowly, not having heard of that before. He was so young at the time he never really paid attention to things like that.

"We went over the treaty in class tonight. A long time ago this area had a huge vampire problem. They preyed on innocent civilians and amassed a huge force that seemed impossible to take down. But after years of fighting they were finally annihilated when the werewolves and the hunters joined forces," Sakura explained.

That would explain why the wolf pack lived so close to the hunter's main base.

"They're was peace for a while but after a couple of years they began to lose trust in one another."

"Sadly, I'm not surprised," Sasuke said. Sakura gave him a sad smile, she wasn't surprised either.

Sakura continued retelling what she had learned in class that night, "Over the years, mistrust turned to fear, and fear turned into hate. There was some fights that broke out between the two groups, but there was no casualties or anything serious. But it was us that broke the agreement in the end."

Sasuke didn't need her to say that the massacre was the breaking point of their truce.

"So doesn't that make humans worse than werewolves?" Sakura frowned and buried her face into his stomach. Sasuke's face darkened.

"No," he answered surprising her, "My family had nothing good to say about hunters either, I'm sure that if the hunters hadn't attacked we would have eventually." It was inevitable that the two opposing forces would clash.

Sakura turned over to look up at him with a determined expression. "What is it?" Sasuke asked, starting to get more concerned.

"Come with me."

Sasuke looked down at her with a confused expression, "What? Where?"

"Come with me on our next practice hunt," she answered. Their practice hunts were just regular hunting excursions that had them tracking and taking down normal game like deer and feral pigs. They wouldn't be getting a crack at the supernatural creatures until they had way more experience.

Sasuke's skeptical look prompted her to continue," If the others see what you're like then maybe it will change their opinion. Our kinds fought together once. We can do it again."

Sasuke highly doubted that anyone would change their minds, but he didn't really care what they thought of him. But he would do it to make Sakura happy. "We'll see."

* * *

A few nights later the kids were assigned to take down the largest male in the herd of deer that resided in the forest. Sasuke secretly followed their little group as they stalked the deer. The hunting group consisted of Sakura and four other kids.

Ino Yamanaka was a rather loud blond girl that had approached Sakura on their first training session. The two of them really hit it off and became fast friends. The other girl was Hinata Hyuuga. She was a really quiet girl with dark blue hair and pale white eyes. There was also Shikamaru Nara, who was definitely the laziest of the group. Even if he would rather spend his time napping, the brown haired boy was extremely bright for his age. The final member of their group was Kiba Inuzuka. He also had brown hair like Shikamaru. But unlike the other boy who kept his hair tied back, Kiba's hair was wild and messy. His family were the ones that trained the dogs that the hunters used. He was almost always seen with his white puppy Akamaru.

They all began their training at the same time since they were the same age. They all belonged to families that were involved in the hunter's association and became quick friends. There were many more kids that were in the training program, but a simple assignment like this didn't require more than five people.

"This is so boring," Kiba groaned as they trudged through the forest. "Shoot a deer. Any civilian can do that." Akamaru yipped in agreement.

"Stop complaining, at least were not stuck in the classroom listening to some old guy rant on and on," Ino said.

"Quiet! The how are we going to catch anything if you two keep making so much noise," Sakura scolded.

With quiet grumbles the five of them continued to track the deer. Ino, Shikamaru, and Kiba carried guns like majority of the other hunters. But Hinata preferred a bow and arrow and Sakura a crossbow.

It was getting late by the time they finally tracked down the herd. They raised their weapons and aimed at the largest male in the herd. With five of them there one of them was bound to hit it. But a snapping of twigs and a shuffling of leaves startled the deer causing them to take off. In a desperate attempt to take down their target the team fired with weapons. None of the shots connected.

"Dammit!" Kiba threw his rifle onto the ground in frustration. "Which one of you did that?!" He looked at the rest of them accusingly. They had been tracking the herd forever and one slip up cost them the kill.

"It wasn't me," Shikamaru shrugged and looked at the others. They all had similar confused expressions. None of them had brushed up against a bush or anything so that rusting noise hadn't come from them.

Akamaru sniffed the air and began barking, swinging his head left and right. A few leaves and twigs fluttered down from the treetops causing them to look up. The tree tops were full of beady eyes. Cackling began echoing through the forest.

The creatures leapt from the trees and rained down upon them. As they flew past the branches and leaves the moonlight revealed who their enemies were.

Goblins!

They were small, barely two feet high with pale brown warty skin that was mostly covered by a dirty rag that was fashioned into some kind of toga. They had grungy tufts of dark brown hair on the tops of their heads that were flanked by two large floppy ears. They weren't very threatening but they could be dangerous in large groups like this one.

The goblins slammed into the startled hunters and attacked them with yellowing teeth and gnarly claws.

The hunters let out screams and cries of pain as the goblins scratched and tore at their skin.

Sakura swung her crossbow and knocked away one of the goblins that had latched onto Ino's back while tugging on her hair. She swung her crossbow repeatedly to keep the goblins away. But there were too many of them.

One of the little monsters managed to sneak up behind her and sunk its teeth into her thigh. The sudden pain caused her to topple over, her weapon falling from her hand. Her fist connected with the goblin's face causing it to squeal and let go. But before she could recover more goblins jumped on her pinning her to the ground.

The other guys were having similar problems. Ino and Hinata stood back to back swinging their weapons, knocking back any goblin that come close. Both girls had torn clothes and scratches on their skin.

They boys were doing slightly better than the girls. Shikamaru had managed to unsheathe a long hunting knife that was already covered in dark goblin blood. Kiba had his rifle raised and took some wild shots at the goblins that would leap at him. Most of his shots made direct contact that caused the creatures to screech in pain and disappear back into the underbrush. Akamaru stuck close to his owner's feet and would snap at the goblins that attempted to sneak up on Kiba from behind.

Sakura grunted as she thrashed around trying to dislodge the goblins from her back. "Stop it! Get off!" she shouted. The goblins cackled louder and the pulled on her hair.

The goblins continued to laugh as they danced around their prey nipping and clawing at them.

"Damn it!" Kiba growled as one of the goblins got past Akamaru and landed a scratch on his face.

Ino and Hinata managed to make their way to Sakura and beat the horrid creatures away from her. "What do we do?" Hinata asked worriedly. The number of goblins seemed to be infinite.

But then suddenly the goblin's horrendous cackling turned into high pitched squeals of terror. The goblins that surrounded them abandoned their attack and scrambled over each other frantically. They pushed and shoved each other out of the way and ignored the confused humans.

"What's happening?" Sakura looked around frantically as she pushed herself to sit up. But they didn't need to wait long for their answer. A black streak burst through the brush and latched on to one of the straggling goblins. The creatures pained squealing was cut off abruptly by a snapping of jaws.

The goblin's body became limp and lifeless in an instant. A huge black wolf shook the shook the dead body for good measure. "Holy shit! Is that what I think it is?!" Kiba gaped at the wolf that stood around hip height. Shikamaru, Hinata, and Ino wore similar expressions of shock and disbelief. Akamaru cowered near his owner's ankles. But unlike the others, a huge smile broke across Sakura's face.

The corpse was tossed aside as the wolf chased after the remaining goblins. Sasuke pounced on two of the retreating figures and only paused to finish them off before moving along to the next one.

A few of the goblins threw themselves at the attacking wolf with their fangs and claws bared. They latched onto his fur but couldn't do much more than that. Sasuke quickly threw his body into a tree trunk, crushing one with a sickening crunch. The others were easily dispatched with a harsh shake of his body.

A few more snaps of his jaws accompanied by the crunching of bones sent the last of the goblins disappearing into the dark.

In only a few moments the vile creatures had faded back into the shadows, leaving only the hunters and the wolf behind.

Shikamaru and Kiba immediately raised their guns and pointed it at the wolf. Sasuke looked down the barrels of the guns, something he had started getting used to over the years. He snorted and glared at them. He should have just let those goblins eat them. Well, accept for-

Sakura rocketed from her sitting position and threw herself at her longtime companion.

"Sakura! What are you doing?!" Ino shrieked. The boys instantly lowered their weapons, not wanting to accidently shoot their friend.

But Sakura ignored them as she wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck and nuzzled her face into his fur. "You came to save us. Thank you!" Sakura hugged him tighter. Sasuke's tail began to wag leisurely. Saving them was worth it after all. He licked her face twice, forcing her to release him to wipe the spit off her face. When he came in closer she pushed his muzzle away playfully and began to laugh.

"Um, Sakura?" Hinata called out to her quietly while the rest of the group watched the scene unfold in front of them with wide eyes.

"Isn't that a- a werewolf," Ino gaped and pointed a shaky finger at Sasuke.

Sakura seemed to finally hear the worried cries of her fellow hunters and looked at them over her shoulder. "Put down the guns guys. Sasuke's not going to hurt you." They didn't truly believe her and kept their weapons raised.

Sakura's shoulders slumped and she let out a deep sigh. She shouldn't have been surprised, most normal people didn't trust supernatural creatures. She quickly grabbed Sasuke's muzzle and pried his mouth open and without wasting a breath she stuck her arm into his mouth her other hand holding onto his top jaw to keeping from pulling away. Her sudden surprising move caused Sasuke to freeze up in shock

Ino and Hinata gasped in fear as they waited for the wolf's jaws to clamp down onto their friend's wrist. But it didn't. Instead Sasuke tried to open his mouth as wide as possible to avoid any contact with her skin and making irritated growling noises.

"Told you," Sakura laughed at her friends expressions. "Guys, this is Sasuke." She took her arm out of the rather irritated wolf's mouth and began to pet him affectionately. She laughed as he narrowed his eyes and glared angrily at her.

* * *

After that incident Sasuke was integrated more and more into the hunter association. When Sakura introduced him while he was human Ino and the others instantly recognized the boy that always hung around Sakura during school. It took a few weeks but they soon became used to him. They stopped fearing him and began to treat him as their friend.

The older hunters were getting used to his presence but that didn't mean that they liked him. The new hunters that were in training with Sakura didn't mind him, but the adults would still cast worried hate filled glances at him. They would never fully trust him, but Sasuke didn't care. He still had a huge dislike, borderline hate, for the elder hunters. They were the ones that murdered his family.

But when he would look at Sakura, his negative feelings would slowly melt away. She didn't act the way the others did. In fact she didn't like to kill things unless absolutely necessary. Her dream was to become a doctor like her aunt. But it was mandatory for her to complete the hunter training in order for her to learn how to defend herself and to learn what kind of other creatures were out there.

He didn't mind the newer generation as much, they weren't as trigger happy as the old one. The older hunters were a bit cocky and liked to boast and flaunt their achievements.

Over time he began to realize that the hunters were not so different from his family. They protected their own and destroyed anything that threatened them. Which had including his deceased family. If his family had lived, wouldn't they have done the same to the hunters? Would they have wiped out an entire group of people?

It was a never ending cycle that was finally put to an end. Now that his family was gone this land was now left in the hands of the hunters. He was just lucky to be alive.

He decided that he would continue to do what his ancestors did for generations. Protect their land. And Sakura. Even if it meant working with people that despised him.

* * *

It became a common thing to see him tagging along on the hunts.

Sasuke was able to increase the success of he hunts by a huge margin, and that was something the council and the other older members could not ignore. Having a werewolf on their side was turning out to be a good idea.

While he was accepted my most of the hunters, Sasuke was still rather reserved. He barely talked to anyone besides Sakura. That was until Jiraiya brought his god son to the hunters association one afternoon.

Naruto Uzumaki was a bright spirited boy with a traumatizing past. Both his parents died while trying to kill a huge demon fox that was terrorizing the mountain area that they were vacationing in. Before they were killed they managed to strike down the demon. In an act of revenge the fox cursed their child, infusing its essence into the new born. Amazingly, Naruto's spirit was able to subdue the demon causing its soul to fizzle out and disappear. But the damage was done and the fox had altered the boy's physical structure.

On the outside he looked like a normal kid, except for the whisker marks on his cheeks. But in reality he was very different from a normal human. When excited, he was prone to growing fox ears and tail while running around on all fours. He could even turn into a small fox kit on occasion.

It took Jiraiya years to break that habit in hopes of integrating him into society. Jiraiya was worried that other people would treat the boy differently because of what he had become. But the hunters slow acceptance of Sasuke gave him hope that his god son would be too.

One night Jiraiya brought Naruto along to one of the trainee's classes where he was somewhat accepted. The kid wanted to be a hunter more than anything. Naruto proved to be exuberant and loud; not the best student around. He had trouble staying still and got distracted easily. He frequently got on the other kids nerves. While Naruto could pass as a normal kid, there was still instances where he would do something that was more animal than human. Going up to the other kids and sniffing them wasn't the best way to make friends.

While he enjoyed the classes, Naruto was alienated from the other kids. It was devastatingly lonely. Some of the other parents who knew of his 'condition' were frightened of him, and their uncertainty was passed onto their kids.

One night after their lessons were over, Naruto was hanging around outside the Hunter's Association building waiting for Jiraiya to come pick him up. He gave a depressed sigh as he watched as the rest of his classmates walked away with their parents. But there was one kid who was sitting on the ground against the building. The adults and other kids seemed to be giving him a wide birth and occasionally throwing nervous glances at him.

With a small smile Naruto walked up to him. "Hey!" The dark haired boy looked up at him curiously.

"Hi," he responded after some hesitation.

"What'cha doing here?" Naruto asked as he moved to sit next to him. The other boy shifted away slightly.

"I'm waiting for my friend."

That was odd. The other hunters wouldn't let civilians hang around so close to their main building and if he was training to be a hunter Naruto would have seen him around before.

Naruto leaned in closer and sniffed curiously at him. He jerked back with a gasp, startling the boy next to him. "You're just like me!" Naruto jumped to his feet in excitement. The boy looked human but didn't smell like one. There was another scent mixed in that Naruto hadn't smelt before. "That's so cool! I'm Naruto. What's your name?" he leaned in closer revealing his ears and tail. The boy seemed to become more uncomfortable and backed up a little.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto looked up to see a girl with pink hair running towards them. He recognized her from class. "Sorry I'm late; I had to talk to the teacher after class." It took her a second to realize that someone else was standing there.

Naruto jumped when she gasped loudly when she caught sight of his ears. He had completely forgotten to hide them again.

"Aww! So cute!" The pink haired girl practically jumped on him, gently stroking his ears. This was not what he reaction that he was expecting. And her gentle petting felt nice.

"You're not scared?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No of course not. I'm Sakura, your Naruto right?"

Naruto's jaw dropped slightly. This girl wasn't terrified of him and she even remembered his name! Besides Jiraiya and a few other adults this was the first person to treat him with kindness. "That's right! Can we be friends? I never had a real friend before?" His tail began to swish excitedly behind him.

"Of course," she smiled.

He surprised her by wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. Sakura shocked by the sudden action, but quickly got over it and returned the hug. Encouraged, he began to nuzzle the side of her head.

With an irritated growl, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the scruff and yanked him back making him let out a startled yip.

"Heyyy-" he complained and glared at Sasuke who scowled back at him.

"Sasuke be nice," Sakura scolded. Sasuke frowned and released Naruto before turning his back to them; sulking. Sakura smiled at the jealous wolf pup. After patting Naruto on the head she moved past him to hug Sasuke from behind. Sasuke relaxed in her arms. With Sakura's kind personality he knew she would instantly take in the lonely boy.

But to his irritation, Naruto attached himself to them at well making a very snuggly group hug.

"We're going to be best friends forever!" the fox boy cheered. Sakura giggled in agreement and Sasuke sighed.

And he was right. After making his first two friends, no matter how unwilling one of them was, the rest of the kids slowly began to accept him. But no matter how many new people he talked to and hung out with, Sasuke and Sakura would always be his best friends.

As they grew older they became more comfortable with their lives, and Sasuke and Naruto were able to fit in well with the community. Even if they got along well with the other kids they still preferred to hang out with each other.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Sasuke asked. He and Naruto were laying in the grass stargazing, while the other hunters in training were in class. Naruto began to skip class more and more to spend time with Sasuke. Normally the two of them would spar, practice tracking, or just laze around. He claimed he learned just as much about hunting from Sasuke as from the 'old geezers'. But Naruto would make sure to attend the classes where they covered guns and other weaponry.

"Yeah but it's so boring. And you don't go either," Naruto shrugged.

"But I'm not training to be a hunter like you are," Sasuke argued.

Naruto rolled over and pouted at him. A question that had been bugging him since he met his friend slipped out. "Why are you living with Sakura and not with other werewolves? Don't hunters hunt wolves?"

Sasuke turned away from the fox boy trying to ignore him, but Naruto was persistent and wouldn't let Sasuke brush him off. "C'mon tell me!"

After a few minutes of continuous prodding Sasuke snapped, "They were killed! Are you happy now!?" He sat up and glared at Naruto with glowing red eyes.

Naruto flinched and backed up, putting some space between him. He avoided eye contact, feeling guilty, but he couldn't stop the flow of questions. "Did the hunter's do it?"

Sasuke let out a dark chuckle, "Who else?"

It made no sense to Naruto why his friend would work with people that killed his family. "Then how can you stand it? Being close to the ones that murdered your family," Naruto said softly.

It took a few moments for Sasuke to respond. "I didn't have much of a choice at the time. It was cooperate or get shot. And then…" he trailed off his gaze softening and his red eyes faded to its normal dark grey. "Then Sakura was there. She cared for me. I can't hate her for a position she was born into."

"So you're only here 'cuz of Sakura?" Naruto questioned. He knew a little bit about wolves. And it puzzled him that Sasuke was so anti-social for being a wolf. Aren't they supposed to be social creatures?

"Mostly," Sasuke replied, "I guess these other kids are alright, they don't seem as bad as the hunter's now. They don't flat out hate me. But Sakura is- different." Sasuke struggled with the right words to describe how he felt. "She's like my pack, my family."

"What about me?" Naruto asked hopefully, his eyes glistened with hope, "Am I a part of your family too?"

Sasuke looked at him and smirked, "I guess so."

With that Naurto pounced on him delivering a near bone crushing hug. "Hooray! We're brothers!" Naruto cheered as he began to nuzzle Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke rather enjoyed Sakura's hugs, but this made him feel extremely uncomfortable. "Let go."

"No! Were family now! Families hug and snuggle!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Get off me you moron!" Sasuke began trying to pry the other boy off him with little success. It was Sasuke who threw the first punch that dislodged Naruto. Only to upset the fox boy, leading to a squabble that attracted some attention from inside.

"Um, what's going on here?"

They two boys looked up to see someone standing above them. The bottom half of his face was covered by a grey mask and an eye patch obscured even more of his face. He looked rather young for having a head full of grey hair.

Kakashi Hatake has been a hunter for years and worked at the local high school as his day job. He didn't expect to see two boys wrestling in the dirt outside of the association's main building.

The two boys recognized the man but they were never introduced. "Sasuke hit me!" Naruto shouted and pointed an accusing finger at his friend. Sasuke scowled but didn't deny it.

Kakashi laughed as the two boys continued to glare at one another. "Shouldn't you be in class now?" The only reason two kids would be out here this late would be to attend the hunters association's lessons.

"Nah it's too boring. And I need to keep Sasuke company," Naruto smiled.

"No you don't. Go to class," Sasuke said. This caused the two of them to start bickering again.

This was way to amusing for Kakashi. He knew that the blond was Jiraya's god child and Sasuke was the name of the werewolf that had been adopted by the Harunos. What an interesting turn of events. "How are you going to pass your tests when you skip class?" he asked innocently.

Naruto stopped fighting with Sasuke and turned to talk to Kakashi. "Sasuke's been helping me some, he knows about hunting and the kinds of creatures that are out there."

"The knowledge of a little kid is not going to be enough when the tests start to get more difficult," Kakashi ignored the heated glare that Sasuke sent his way, "Would you like me to tutor you? Sasuke can come too, there's no harm in becoming more aware. This way you can learn some of the things that they're learning in class without really being a hunter."

The two boys turned to each other as they thought. Sasuke wouldn't mind learning more and there was no way he was going to step into that classroom. He would help them but he was never going to be one of _them_. Naruto did enjoy the classes, but the teachers there were just so boring. And hanging out with Sasuke was way more fun than the other kids, who at times still treated him with some reservation.

"Who are you anyway you old geezer?"

Kakashi's visible eye twitched slightly. He'll let that comment slide- just this once. "Kakashi Hatake, I'm a rather experienced hunter. Your father was my teacher." Naruto's eyes sparkled at the mention of his diseased father.

"So you know all his secrets and stuff, and you can like teach them to me! What kind of techniques did he teach you? Did he have any other pupas?" Naruto began shooting off questions non-stop.

"You mean pupils you idiot," Sasuke interrupted. Naurto turned away from a slightly startled Kakashi to stick his tongue out at Sasuke and started another round of arguing.

The elder hunter smiled at the two bickering kids. This was going to be very amusing.

After that night Kakashi would coach the two of them four nights a week. He tried rattling off bits of information only for Naruto to doze off and start snoring. That was obviously why the boy skipped class so often. How in the world was he even passing?

Sasuke on the other hand just sat there, it was hard to tell if he was even paying attention.

After his first failed attempts he began taking the two of them out into the field. He began to teach them basic combat techniques, how to track without giving away their position, and how to properly set up traps and which to use depending on their intended prey.

Naruto learned to handle a multitude of weapons starting with rifles to large hunting knives. He loved all of them, but favored hand guns. Sasuke on the other hand despised any kind of gun. It just felt wrong when he held them. He even felt a bit awkward with a bow and a crossbow.

While Sasuke was dangerous in his wolf form his human form was a bit lacking in natural defenses. After a bit of coaxing Kakashi managed to convince him to try out knives. Sasuke was a bit apprehensive at first but warmed up to it much better than any other type of weapon. He still preferred claws and fangs over anything else, but the extra knowledge wouldn't hurt.

Kakashi had planned on running a weekend practice session during the day so Sakura could attend. She was invited because Kakashi was curious what kind of person this 'Sakura' was that his favorite students would bring up in their conversations on occasion.

"So you're Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura was had heard about the hunter through Sasuke and Naruto. They seemed to have mixed feelings about him. At times he was amazing mentor but at others he was the annoying old geezer.

"Yes, and you must be Sakura," he smiled at her. "Now that the introductions are over let's get started!"

"What are we planning on doing today?" Naruto asked excitedly as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Were going to play the ultimate game of hide and seek. I'm going to hide in the forest and you're going to have to catch me and simply tag me."

Sasuke scoffed, "That's it?"

Kakashi wagged his finger at him. "It won't be as easy as you think. I have a few less dangerous traps already set up and I get a ten minute head start to hide. And tracking me won't be as easy as you think." Kakashi pulled out a tiny spray bottle. "This was developed a few years ago to mask my scent."

After a few sprays Kakashi's scent simply vanished. Sasuke frowned, that was rather annoying. Now they would be forced to rely on foot pints and any environmental changes that would be caused by a body moving through the forest. Being forced to hunt like a human sucked.

"Good luck!" Kakashi waved at them and leisurely strolled into the forest.

After waiting an anxious ten minutes the three of them rushed into the forest after their teacher. Only to immediately stumble into a net trap that was hidden on the ground. The three of them were hoisted up into the air and hung from a tree. The net closed tightly squishing the three of them together snuggly.

"Where'd this stupid thing come from?!"

"Stop wiggling!"

"Naruto your foot's in my face!"

It took them a good five minutes for Sasuke to cut them down with the knife that Kakashi insisted he carry around.

"Well, that was a terrible start. Let's try this again shall we?" Sakura tried to stay enthusiastic but that first trap was rather humiliating.

Unfortunately for them, they spent the entire exercise running into trap after trap. While they finally managed to find Kakashi's, trail by noticing a few broken twigs that showed where someone had pushed through the underbrush, it only led to another trap. They spent the next hour at the bottom of a rather large pit fall trap.

Kakashi could hear them yelling and fussing quite a ways away. "Hello down there!" he laughed as he peeked over the edge of the hole. His three students were covered in dirt, sticks, and leaves.

"When the hell did you have a chance to dig such a large fucking hole!?" Naruto shouted angrily. Sasuke and Sakura wore equally enraged expressions.

"Now, now, watch your language young one," Kakashi tormented only to receive more cusses in response.

After throwing down a rope for the poor kids to climb out Kakashi began his lesson. While they were taught to make traps in lessons they hardly covered finding and disarming them. He also went over some advanced tracking techniques since they took so long to even get close to his trail.

They kept up their training, meeting every Sunday to try to complete the assignment given to them. It took them seven more attempts to finally catch Kakashi.

Over the years the three of them became quite an efficient and deadly team. When Sasuke lost his family he never expected to find a new one, even if they were a little odd.

**A/N: It was either two short chapters or a really long one. The next chapter one is going to be another time skip to where the rest of the story takes place. Hope you enjoyed reading :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It's been twelve years since the Haurno family took in the orphaned boy. Over the years Mebuki grew to care about Sasuke; not as much as a son but at like a least a close family relative. Kizashi on the other hand still didn't really like him, but he didn't down right hate him anymore. The two of them tolerated each other and only interacted when they didn't have a choice.

The relationship between Sasuke and Sakura on the other hand only continued to grow and get stronger. While growing up, the two of them spent majority of their time together.

Besides learning to be a hunter they also had to go to a regular school. They were currently in their second to the last year of high school. Sakura had also started volunteering with Tsunade, hoping to one day get taken on as her apprentice.

Most mornings played out the same way. Sakura would wake up and get ready for school then grab some toast or fruit for breakfast, making sure to grab some extra for Sasuke. Then the two of them would head over to school in Sakura's car. It wasn't a brand new fancy car, but a reasonable second-hand red sedan. It had a few dents here and there from when she lent it to Naruto.

"Bye mom we're leaving!" Sakura shouted before stepping out of the back door with an apple in hand. She vaguely heard her mom shout something back before closing the door. She took a bit of the apple as she walked up to Sasuke's house.

She knocked three times and called, "Sasuke, you awake? We need to go." After knocking again and receiving no response she opened the door. She cautiously opened the door and stuck her head inside. Sasuke was still out cold and looked perfectly content on sleeping the day away. That's what running around in the forest all night would do to someone. He was shirt less and lying face down in his body tangled in his rumpled blanket. The only thing he was wearing besides pants was the silver chain around his neck.

The association was able to come up with a more stylish model of the collar he used to ware. Rather than a clunky metal thing, it was now a nice silver braided chain with tiny red runes carved into the surface.

Sakura also had its red crystal counterpart carved into a crescent moon that was adhered to a thinner chain that she wore on her neck at all times. Since she was with him majority of the time it only made sense that she would have the crystal. She never once had to use it and she never think she will.

With a sigh she pushed the door open all the way and walked over to the bed to wake him up.

"Sasuke we're going to be late," she scolded as she shook his shoulder. "And what have I told you about sleeping naked."

He let out a muffled growl as he was slowly roused into the land of the living. "I'm not naked. I have pants on." There was a rather awkward situation when they were younger where Sakura barged into his house and he was sleeping completely naked. His excuse was that he was too tired and just went to bed after transforming back to a human. After that embarrassing moment he made sure to at least put on a pair of shorts before going o bed.

Sasuke pushed himself up and sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. Sakura giggled and ruffled his messy hair.

"If you want to leave on time I suggest you get out so I can change." Even if he commanded her in a gruff voice she wasn't bothered by it at all. She was used to his tone and knew he didn't really mean it. Not being a morning person also contributed to his attitude. After ruffling his hair one more time she left his house and waited patiently outside.

It took him only a couple of minutes to get properly dressed and ready for the day. After getting dressed he went over to the main house to use their bathroom and brush his teeth. Sakura tossed him the apple she brought for him as he was closing the door.

He frowned a bit at the bites that were taken out of what was supposed to be his breakfast. "Thanks."

"Alright let's go!" Sakura laughed and raced to her car with Sasuke trailing behind her.

Mebuki smiled as she watched the two kids get into the car. Unlike most boys, Sasuke wasn't into cars. He claimed that they were loud and smelled horrible. He knew how to drive but he let Sakura do most of the driving since she seemed to enjoy it while he only drove when he had too.

"He turned out to be a really nice boy," Mebuki smiled at her husband, who was sitting at the table scanning the newspaper and drinking coffee.

Kizashi looked up and raised a brow at her. "If you can get past his attitude," he grumbled, "And don't forget that furry menace he turns into every now and then." While he didn't look at Sasuke with utter disgust and hate they weren't exactly best buds.

"They look awfully cute together," Mebuki giggled as she continued to stare out the window. Kizashi chocked and sputtered on his coffee. This wasn't the first time his wife had brought up something like this and it was starting to happen more frequently. "And he does take really good care of her."

Kizashi couldn't deny that. He coughed up the lingering coffee from his throat and chose to ignore his wife's comments. Sasuke was a good kid but he wasn't human, and that was a big thing in Kizashi's books. He gripped his injured leg beneath the table. "Too bad he's a wolf."

That broke the happy daze that Mebuki was in. The smile melted away from her face and was replaced with a frown. "Yeah, too bad."

* * *

Sakura sped down the road towards their school, nearly running over a stray cat in the process. They were just barely going to make it on time. Sasuke really needed to wake up earlier.

Sasuke rolled down the window and leaned against the door to let the gusts of wind rush against his face and hair. Sakura glanced over and giggled. "You look like a dog, hanging out the window like that." Her comment made him frown and pull away from the window. "I'm just joking. You don't need to pout," she teased.

"Someone's in a very cheery mood this morning," Sasuke said.

"There's a hunt tonight."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. Sakura was never truly interested in becoming a hunter, she just went through with it because it was what her family always did. "Since when did going on hunts made you happy?" he asked.

"Since this may be the last one I have to be on for a while. If we complete the assignment then we graduate." Hunters are normally never sent out on a mission alone and worked better in small groups. Allowing them to pick their own hunting parties makes it easier for them to bond and perform more cohesively. But tonight was a special case, because it was going to be their 'final' a much larger team was going to be sent out due to the difficulty to the task. "Then I can finally focus on what I really want to do."

Sakura's dream was to become a doctor. She spent most of her free time studying and shadowing her mother or Tsunade at the hospital.

"What's the assignment?" Sasuke asked.

"There's a disturbance at the base of the mountain that we need to check out. By the past few reports it looks like a flock of harpies are making a nest there."

Sasuke frowned. Harpies were basically bird people. They had gangly long limbs that were tipped with razor sharp bird talons. While resembling humans slightly they had ugly narrow pointed faces and a mouth of needle like teeth. Their most prominent feature were the feathers that sprouted from their bodies. The plumage normally ranged from black, brown, to white and sprouted down the length of the arms and around the head. A few also had feathers that covered the chest and torso. He hated those things. Besides being an eyesore they made horrible screeching noises that practically made his ears bleed.

"They're more annoying than Naruto but they shouldn't be too hard to drive off," Sasuke said. The harpies hadn't settled in yet so they won't be as protective of the area yet. As long as the flock wasn't too large they shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Sakura giggled, "That's not nice. You shouldn't say things like that about your best friend." Sasuke scoffed causing Sakura's giggling to evolve into laughter. "Anyway, are you coming with us?"

"Wouldn't that be cheating?" Sasuke normally joined them on the more dangerous assignments just to make sure Sakura was safe and Naruto didn't get all of them into too much trouble.

"What are the instructors going to do about it? Tell you to stay home? As if you would listen to them anyway," Sakura laughed. She had a point.

A smirk made its way across Sasuke's face. "Afraid to go without me?" he teased.

"I would feel safer if you came with us."

Sasuke's smirk disappeared and was replaced with a small smile. He turned back to face the window with his pleased expression. "I can't just leave you in the care of that dumbass. There's bound to be a dead body coming back otherwise." Sasuke didn't even flinch when Sakura smacked him playfully.

They pulled up to the school with a few minutes to spare. Stepping out of the care they saw their friends grouped up at a picnic table that was well shaded by nearby trees.

Accompanying their normal hunting party that consisted of Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, Kiba, and of course Naruto, were a few more people. There was Chouji Akamichi, a rather large set boy who was almost constantly munching on something. This morning he was devouring a bag of his favorite potato chips. Chouji was commonly seen with Shikamaru and Ino since their parents were friends. He wasn't the fastest hunter or the best shot out there, but what he lacked in other areas he made up in brute strength. His rather wide girth actually had quite a bit of muscle.

When he teamed up with the other two, Chouji was often their first line of defense. While Ino and Shikamaru shot at their target with their own weapons Chouji would hang back with his mace to bash anything that came close to his teammates.

Chouji's mace looked like a giant sledge hammer. The head of the weapon was made of a special metal ore that was extremely hard and dense. The metal was rounded on the edges and had two iron strips wrapped around the center to secure it to the handle. Both Naruto and Kiba nearly threw out their backs trying to wield the giant monstrosity.

Shino Aburame; the silent sniper. He was a very soft spoken boy and tended to fade into the background, unintentionally. Often times he gets slightly peeved for getting over looked or forgotten when he was standing right there. The shades and hoodie he always wore only made him more secretive.

Shino was often sent out with Hinata and Kiba. Both Hinata and Kiba came from families that excelled in tracking. The three of them together were able to quickly locate their objective and finish it off just as fast. Shino preferred a long range rifle. He was able to blend into the shadows and easily pick off anything that came within range.

Along with those two there were a few people that were a year older than them. The first was Tenten, trapper and weapons specialist. She was fit was the other girls and wore her brown hair in two Chinese styled buns. She was adopted by one of the organization's families when she was vey young.

Give her anything sharp and pointy and she would be ecstatic. She was proficient with all the types of weapons that the organization had to offer, whether it's long range or short.

The next person was Lee. If his odd bowl cut or large bug like eyes didn't make him stand out his love for rather tight exercise clothes would. He was a fitness nut. Lee was constantly doing a variety of stretches and exercises.

He also had a huge crush on Sakura. On multiple occasions he would boisterously proclaim his undying love for her; which she would kindly turn down. Lee never seemed to notice how embarrassed Sakura would get by his proclamations of love or how Sasuke would get really irritated.

While he was very agile and tough he had no skill with a gun what so ever. It was an unspoken rule to never let him handle any kind of firearm. Where he lacked in his aim he made up for with his mastery of small hand weapons like knives and even nunchaku.

The last person was Neji Hyuuga. He was the one of the three seniors and Hinata's cousin. The cousins shared similar features, such as fair skin and very light colored eyes. But unlike his shy and quiet cousin, Neji had an attitude more like Sasuke. He was rough around the edges and kept mostly to himself. His long brown hair had led to some teasing in the past. But that was quickly ended when he would turn around and beat their ass.

The Hyuugas were a hunting family known for their overwhelming prowess. They had stupendous aim and excellent hand to hand combat kills. Neji was the best hunter to come out of that family in recent years.

"You guys are late!" Naruto shouted.

"The bell hasn't rung yet so technically we're on time," Sakura argued. They playfully argued until the warning bell began to sound. "And it doesn't matter if we're a few minutes late we have Kakashi first and he's always a few minutes later than us anyway."

True to her word, when it was time for class they were all sitting in classroom and missing their teacher.

* * *

Because majority of them had different classes the next time they could come together was during lunch. They would sit around the same table that they met at in the morning. It was isolated enough from the other students that they could talk about their after school 'activities' without fear of civilians over hearing them.

"So are you guys excited about your final test?" Teneten asked as she slid into the seat next to Ino.

"Of course! If we pass then there's no more of those boring classes," Naruto cheered. His excitement and enthusiasm was mimicked by Kiba and Chouji.

"But then we would be receiving assignments instead," Shikamaru complained as he lowered his head to rest on his arms that were folded on the table. The rest of them looked at him oddly. Wasn't that the point of finishing their lessons? To be able to go out and complete hunts.

Ino slapped the lazy boy on the shoulder, "They why try to be a hunter in the first place?" Shikamaru shrugged.

"We'll I'm sure the rest of you are excited," Tented said. She received firm nods in response.

They discussed the best ways to go about taking care of the flock of harpies. The group of almost-hunters went over different strategies and asked the older kids for their opinions. Although Neji, Tenten, and Lee only became hunters a year ago they had already gone on quite a few assignments.

Sasuke sat off to the side of the group leaning against a tree, not completely isolated but far enough where he could ignore them. He didn't mind them normally, but he still wouldn't consider himself a hunter and felt awkward in the current course of the conversation.

"Are you sure that you're going to come with us?" Sakura asked quietly, coming over to sit next to him.

"Yeah," he nodded. There was no way he was going to let her go out without him. Sakura was a good enough shot to protect herself but it would make him feel a whole lot better if he was there with her.

Sakura giggled at him seeming to know exactly what he was thinking. "Good boy," she smiled and ruffled his hair.

Sasuke grumbled lightly at first but quickly quieted. He would never admit to anyone that he enjoyed Sakura's affection. Sakura seemed to know that he liked her petting no matter how much he complained.

But of course Sasuke's happiness wouldn't last.

"Hey! No fair! I want Sakura to pet me too!"

Sasuke gave a frustrated snarl as Naruto bounced over to them and threw his arms around the two of them. "Get off loser." Sasuke shoved the other boy away from making Naruto pout. The others had finished their discussion and now focused on the two bickering boys. The two of them were always fighting about one thing or another. It was rather entertaining to say the least.

"Come on you always hog Sakura. You need to learn to share," Naruto continued to whine. "I want some love too."

"Shut up! You can't go off spouting things like that in public," Sasuke scolded. Anyone else who heard them would think Naruto was insane or creepy.

Naruto ignored the grouchy Sasuke and looked toward Sakura who was laughing at their antics. Seeing as he wasn't going to get the attention he wanted from Sakura he turned to the next viable person. "Hinata will you pet me?" His bright blue eyes sparkling.

Hinata turned bright red at his sudden blunt question. She looked down and began to twiddle her thumbs stuttering incoherently.

"Eh?" Naurto tilted his head curiously and leaned in closer trying to catch what she was saying. But before he could get any closer he was yanked backwards. The sudden movement caused him to let out a startled yip. He looked back to see a glaring Neji holding onto the collar of his shirt.

"What kind of question is that?" Neji asked, his eyes narrowing at the fox boy.

Not at all intimidated, Naruto began to explain his reasoning, "It feels really good you know and there's not many people that I would feel comfortable with. Sasuke and he gets all jealous when Sakura snuggles with me," he ignored Sasuke's angry outburst and continued, "Ino scares me, and you get mad when guys get to close to Tenten. Hinata's super kind, plus she smells nice. And the only person at home is the old perv. There is no way in hell that I'm going to ask him to pet me." His explanation seemed reasonable, but he forgot that Hinata had a very overprotective cousin.

But Neji's anger seemed to be slipping away to be replaced by embarrassment. "I don't get mad when people approach Tenten," he retorted.

"Not people, just guys," Tenten teased. She let out a small laugh and bumped Neji with her hip. The older boy released Naruto and looked away as his face heated up. Neji and Tenten were extremely close and they were all waiting for them to announce that they were finally officially together.

"What do you mean I'm scary!?" Ino shot up from her seat and slammed her fist onto the table.

"That's exactly what I mean!"

Sakura finally stifled her laughter and gently rested her hand on Naruto's head. "Aww you poor thing." The poor fox boy just wanted some love and attention.

"Do not worry Naruto! I will cuddle with you!" Lee exclaimed and moved towards a stunned Naruto with his arms out stretched.

Naurto quickly backpedaled, trying to put some distance between him and Lee. "Oh hell no. Get the fuck away from me!"

Their entire table had erupted into chaos. Sakura, Kiba, and Tenten were doubled over by hysterical laughter as they watched Naruto trying to escape Lee's grasp. Sasuke and Neji started brooding, irritation practically seeping from their bodies. Ino continued to yell profanities at Naruto while Hinata still hadn't recovered from her initial shock and sat there fidgeting.

"This is why the rest of the school population doesn't associate with us," Shino said as he watched as the craziness began to accelerate. Choji nodded in agreement crumbs falling from his cheeks and fingers while he devoured another bag of potato chips.

Shikamaru had conveniently fallen asleep at the table. How anyone could sleep through that racket was unbelievable.

* * *

After a few more boring hours of school they headed to the hunters headquarters for a briefing. Their meeting ended rather quickly. It mostly covered possibilities where the harpies were nesting and the strategy that would be implemented.

The nesting site was rather large and broke off into small groups. Due to the spread out nests the hunters were forced to break into their own teams. They would move out at dusk when the harpies' eye sight would be hindered. Many of the creatures they hunted were nocturnal so they were trained to work with little to no visibility so attacking during the night wouldn't bother them. But harpies are one of the few exceptions to the monsters they normally come across. Like most birds harpies have terrible sight at night.

The rest of the afternoon was spent gathering equipment and making sure their weapons were well prepared. Blades sharpened and an ample amount of access ammo.

The eight of them met in a clearing in the forest a bit always from where the nest was rumored to be located. Sasuke had agreed to meet them later. He could move through the forest much faster than them and decided to take a nap while they trekked to the meeting point.

The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon when the last member of their band showed up. "Now that were all here lets have one last briefing," Shikamaru said as he pulled out a map of the area. "The nests should be along the base of the mountain. We'll split up into groups of three. Ino, Choji, and I will check the left side. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino will get the center. And Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura will get the right." Shikamaru pointed to the map and moved his finger along its base as he assigned them locations.

"Where is Sasuke anyway?" Kiba asked noticing that Naruto and Sakura had arrived by themselves.

Sakura shrugged, "He's on his way."

"Are we going for a total annihilation or are we chasing them out?" Shino asked. He had traded in his normal sunglasses for goggles that enhanced night vision.

"Either, but I think it will lead to a total eradication. If they had already started laying eggs then they aren't going to abandon the nests very easily," Shikamaru answered. Normally Shikamaru was extremely lazy and preferred to take naps and watch the clouds go by. But he was an excellent strategist and took his role rather seriously.

Ino's sudden startled shriek caused them all to jump. She whipped around, the end of her ponytail smacking Chouji in the face, and continued to yell. "God damn it! You need a bell or something!" she screamed.

The others, confused about her sudden outburst, gave her strange looks. But it all made sense after they noticed the huge wolf standing behind her. The wolf glared at her before walking towards Sakura. Sasuke was now fully grown and stood about chest height and was very intimidating. He ignored Ino's ranting and sat down next to Sakura who greeted him with a gentle pat and a scratch behind the ears.

When Sasuke had caught up to them he had attempted to peak around them to see the map that they were all focused on. Apparently Ino hadn't heard him approaching and freaked out when his fur brushed up against her leg.

"Now that we're all here, and Ino's alerted everything in the forest about our location, should we get going?" Kiba joked. Ino turned her angry glare towards Kiba instead.

"About time you got here," Naruto cheered, "Kiba's right let's get going." He pumped his fist in enthusiasm swinging around his rifle as he did so.

"Watch it!" Sakura scolded. The barrel of the gun swinging past her face. His actions were rewarded with a not so gentle punch to the shoulder.

Naruto held his pained arm and whined, "Owww Sakura. How am I supposed to shot things if I can't use my arm?"

With a deep sigh and a shake of the head Shikamaru turned away from the bickering duo and headed towards his team's assigned location. The others followed his lead until it was only Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remaining.

Sasuke watched as they last person disappeared into the foliage. He continued to sit there as Saukra and Naruto argued. When it seemed like they two of them weren't going to stop fighting Sasuke stood up and prodded Sakura's side with his nose.

"What is it?" she asked. Now that she had broken eye contact with Naruto it gave her a chance to notice what had happened around her. "Uh, where'd everyone go?" The absence of the others were suddenly brought to Naruto's attention.

"I don't believe they left already! We can't let them beat us; let's go!" Naruto shouted and took off into the forest.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura shouted and ran after him. Sasuke let out an aggravated sigh and started walking leisurely after them. It would take a few minutes for Sakura to catch him, or for Naruto to notice that he had started off in the wrong direction.

After a few minutes of walking, Sasuke caught up to them. He smirked at the scene in front of him. Naruto was sitting on the ground pouting while Sakura gave him a thorough scolding. As amusing as it was it was time for them to go.

"So which way is it then?" Naruto asked, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Sakura groaned in annoyance and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

* * *

After finally heading down the right path the trio were finally approaching the base of the mountain. They had ceased all talking to avoid giving away their position. All of a sudden Sasuke stopped his hears perked and his head raised as he sniffed the air.

Behind him Naruto and Sakura stopped and raised their weapons. Most likely Sasuke had heard or smelt something that they hadn't noticed yet.

_Blood_

Sasuke could smell blood coming from the direction that they were headed. Had one of the others finished off their nest and had started working on clearing theirs. But even their small detour wouldn't give the others enough time to accomplish that.

The fur along his back and shoulders rose as the smell of blood got stronger. Noticing his slowed pace and stiff posture, Naruto and Sakura knew that something was amiss. Their senses were on full alert as they moved as silently as possible.

As they neared their destination the smell only continued to get stronger. Even Naruto and Sakura could smell it now. It was sickening. The air was filled with its coppery smell.

Sakura pushed aside a low hanging branch and gasped loudly. They had found the harpy nest, but it wasn't anything like they had expected.

The face of the mountain that the harpies had made their nests along the mountain side was red with blood. Harpy nests that resembled enormous bird nests were tattered and destroyed. The dead mangled bodies lay scattered throughout the area. The ground was speckled by a layer of harpy feathers. The plumage that wasn't soaked in blood still fluttered in the night air.

Sakura gaged and covered her face with her hands, dropping her crossbow. Her face turned white and pasty. She could normally handle blood and gore from volunteering in the hospital, but this was just too much.

"What the hell happened here?" Naruto gasped. The fox boy gripped his rifle so tightly that his hands began to shake and his knuckles turned white. It wasn't uncommon for harpies to fight amongst themselves for one reason or another but this was different. This was a massacre.

They were trained to make clean kills. Preferably ending the prey's life with a single shot. What happened here was beyond what Naruto and Sakura had experienced. Sasuke on the other hand had seen something gruesome like this before.

The dead harpies changed into his dead family. Sasuke shut his eyes tightly and willed the images away. His family were long dead. There was nothing he could do about it. When he reopened his eyes they corpses had changed back into harpies.

Swallowing thickly and pushing down his nausea, Sasuke took a closer look at the bodies. The bird people had huge lacerations on their arms and torso. Some of the deeper gut wounds were horrific. Entrails had been dragged out of the bodies to rot on the ground. A few harpies had deep looking puncture wounds that were oozing a pale yellow substance. The most obvious to him were the deadly looking bite marks, killing blows. The bites were huge, taking out large amounts of the harpies flesh.

This obviously wasn't the work of a hunter. Something had attacked the nesting site before that had. Movement among the corpses near the base of the mountain side drew their attention. Some kind of beast was moving around in the darkness. The limited light from the moon reflected off bright blue eyes.

This monster turned to look at them, a dead harpy clutched tightly in its jaws. Blood dripped ominously from the body and onto the already soiled ground. The creature dropped its prey to the ground and began walking towards them.

Sasuke let out a fierce growl and bared his fangs menacingly. Next to him Naruto raised the rifle in his shaky hands. Slightly behind them, Sakura had yet to recover. Sometime after they arrived she had sunk to the ground and hadn't moved. Her hands were still cupped firmly around her mouth, her eyes wide and fearful.

Once the creature was out of the shadow of the mountain the moonlight showed them what they were up against.

It was a large lion like creature. Its red fur was stained almost black with blood from its earlier kills around its paws and muzzle. The most prominent feature was the large black bat wings that extended from its back. A scorpion-like tail swished behind the monster as it approached. Pointed spines stuck out from the base of the deadly scorpion barb.

_Manticore!_

**A/N: This is the last time skip the rest of the story is going to be taking place while they're this age. Hope everyone enjoyed! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**A/N: Someone reviewed and asked if Sasuke and Sakura are going to be a couple. The answer is simply, yes. When? Eventually :P**

Sakura recognized the beast from class. This hunt was going to be far harder than they expected. While they could handle a few harpies a deadly monster like the manticore would make for a real challenge.

Naruto fired the first shot. The beast dropped to a crouch causing the bullet to miss its mark. The manticore snarled at him and charged.

Fear sunk into Naruto's being making him freeze. The blood soaked monster was closing in quickly, its gaze locked onto the boy in front of it. He fumbled with his gun struggling to reload.

As the manticore closed in, Sasuke leapt forward. While Sasuke was pretty big the manticore was much larger than he was. His jaws tried close around the creature's neck but the manticore's thick mane prevented him from doing much damage. The manticore was knocked off balance but managed to right itself by flapping its powerful wings.

The beast turned its head to snap at him, narrowly missing. Sasuke hung on tightly as the manticore began to thrash around and beating him with its bat like wings. Rather than wasting his strength on an attack that wasn't doing any harm he let go and pushed himself away. Luckily for Sasuke he released just on time to avoid getting impaled with the manticore's scorpion like tail.

The manticore shook itself, finally free of the leech that clung to its neck. By now Naruto had finally recovered and began to open fire on the beast. The manticore roared angrily as the bullets pierced its skin. Some blood splattered the ground but no real damage was done.

Ignoring the pain the manticore charged at Naruto. The fox boy was able to swiftly jump to the side avoiding the deadly claws that whizzed by. But he wasn't expecting one of the wings to unfurl. The manticore's wing struck him hard in the chest, knocking the rifle from his hand and sending him flying into a nearby tree trunk.

Naruto hit the tree with a sickening thud and collapsed to the ground in a heap. He groaned in pain and barely managed to stay conscious.

The manticore approached the dazed boy slowly. Its muscles coiling, preparing to pounce. The beast's ears flicked to the side picking up the noise of pounding footsteps. Sasuke's attack was thwarted when the manticore was able to easily dodge his initial blow and counter.

The manitcore jumped into the air, reaching the top of the trunk just below the canopy in a single jump. The height of the jump was greatly increased by a flap of its powerful wings. While the manticore's muscular body was too heavy for flight its wings allowed it to leap great distances.

From this position the monster pushed off the tree and shot towards Sasuke.

Sasuke was forced to retreat to avoid the maticore's slashing claws. He managed to maneuver himself between Naruto and the raging manticore. The depression in the ground showed how much power was behind the enemies blow. But now both of them were cornered. He snarled and snapped his jaws threateningly, but nothing deterred the beast's approach.

But the manticore was stopped once again from making a kill. This time sustaining major damage as a silver bolt sunk deep into its left socket. The maticore reared up roaring in agony and thrashing its head back and forth trying to dislodge the bolt that had sunk deep into its eye. Its wings flapped wildly, kicking up a thin cloud of dust around them.

Sakura held her crossbow up to her eye. Her arms quivered occasionally, showing that she still hadn't gotten completely over her fear. She was broken out of her stupor when Naruto and Sasuke had gotten themselves cornered. She struggled to hold her weapon steady, but she came through for them in the end.

While the manticore tried desperately to remove the bolt from its eye Naruto was able to recover from the blow and moved to stand next to Sakrua. Having lost his gun earlier he was forced to use the hunting knife that he had secured to his belt. Sasuke followed him and stood defensively before them.

"Thanks Sakura," Naruto said. She nodded in response and knocked another bolt into her crossbow.

One of the manticore's claws caught the bolt and pulled it out of the beast's eye. The silver shaft fell to the ground and was almost instantly smothered by a stream of blood. The entire left side of the manticore's face was wet with blood. Enraged, the beast turned to them. They could see its hatred and anger burning through them from its one good eye.

It roared angrily at them; the sound reverberating throughout the forest. The three of them jumped when another roar came from directly behind them.

They turned swiftly to see another manticore coming out of the forest. They were trapped between two deadly monsters.

Sasuke stepped forward and growled back at the approaching creature. While Sasuke faced off against the new comer, Naruto and Sakura turned back to the manticore that they were fighting a moment ago. They had faith that Sasuke could hold off the other manticore while they finished off the one that was already injured.

Behind them they could hear Sasuke and the manticore fighting. The sound of growling and snapping jaws filled the area.

One-eye's gaze flicked between the two teens before finally settling on Naruto. The boy knew immediately that he had been targeted and raised his hunting knife defensively. Fear still surged through his body, but he knew that he couldn't let it control him or it would mean certain death. He growled back at the beast, his eyes darkened to red and his canines elongated into long fangs.

Sakura's eyes widened at the sight of her friend. She knew about Naruto's past revolving around the demon fox, but this was the first time that she had seen him look so terrifying. She was used to seeing him with cute fox ears and a fully tail-not this.

She pushed those thoughts of her friend to the back of her and raised her crossbow. One-eye lunged at Naruto, claws unsheathed and jaw gaping. Naruto quickly jumped to the left, making use of the monster's blind side, and slashed diagonally with his knife. Unable to see out of its injured eye the manticore was unable to dodge the blade that cut deep into its shoulder. The blade of the knife easily split flesh, causing a spray of blood to splatter Naruto.

In a pained rage, One-Eye swung its tail violently catching Naruto in the gut. The blow knocked the wind out of him and threw him to the ground. The beast turned to look at him with its good eye. But before it could launch an attack another bolt sunk into its side.

While aiming for the heart, Sakura's bolt hurried itself deep into the beast's chest. When the manticore didn't die Sakura knew that she had missed her mark. The beast coughed up blood, its breath coming out in ragged gasps. She may have not killed the beast, but she was sure that she had at least pierced a lung.

Naruto let out a fearsome growl and threw himself at the beast. Caught off guard, One-Eye lost its footing and crumpled to the ground. The manitcore noticed a different scent coming from the boy. He no longer smelt like a human. A demon's odor was wafting from the boy.

Naruto used his weight to press down on the manticore's injured chest and struggled to hold it down. His enhanced demon strength allowed him to keep the beast pinned. He raised his knife above his head and prepared to end the beast's life.

Before Naruto could bring his knife down the manticore swiped at him again with its tail. Seeing the attack from the corner of his eye gave Naruto the few seconds he needed to avoid being impaled at the end of the scorpion like tail. The barb of the tail caught his shirt and created a huge tare in the shoulder area.

Naruto inspected the tare to see if the attack broke skin. The manticore's tail was laden with venom like a normal scorpions. Getting injected with its deadly venom could prove to be fatal.

While he inspected his shoulder the manticore chose that moment to strike. Naruto barely managed to raise his knife in time to defend himself.

He was forced onto his back while the monster pinned him down. The blade of the knife clashed with the manticore's fangs keeping the monsters powerful jaws from clamping down on him. The beast's horrid breath flooded Naruto's senses.

"Oh god! You need a fucking breath mint," he gaged. To make things worse saliva from the fangs began dripping down his arms and onto his face. The manticore pressed down on him, its fangs inching closer to his face.

Just in time another bolt stuck the monster's body. One-Eye reared his head back roaring in agony. The sudden movement yanked the knife out of Naruto's hands. But this was an opportunity that he wasn't going to miss. By throwing its head back One-Eye exposed its throat to Naruto.

He might have lost his knife but he still had another weapon. Sharp claws formed from his fingernails. Before he missed his chance, Naruto slashed at the monster above him. His claws tore into the manticore's throat the same time another bolt from Sakura's crossbow struck the beast in the head.

One-Eye's body stiffened for just a moment before becoming limp and lifeless. The dead body slumped forward and landed on Naurto who was still lying beneath it.

"Just great," he groaned between clenched teeth. Sakura dropped her crossbow and went over to help him. His enhanced demon strength allowed him to lift the dead manticore. But even then the corpse was heavy and difficult to move. With Sakura's help they managed to lift the body enough for Naruto to wiggle out.

The two of them observed their kill as they caught their breath. No words were exchanged, but Naruto couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face. Their first real hunt was a success! He gave Sakura a thumbs up that was returned with a happy grin from the pink haired girl.

But their victory was ripped away from them by the sound of a pained yelp. The whipped around to see the other manticore attacking Sasuke. The beast's had him pinned, one paw was pressed on his chest while the other was digging into his flank.

The pair acted instantly. Naruto retrieved his knife and ran at the manticore with a loud war cry. Sakura quickly scrambled to load her crossbow and let out a wild shot. Naruto's shouting drew the manticore's attention away from Sasuke.

The beast abandoned its current target and charged at Naruto. It dodged Sakura's first shot and pounced at Naruto. The fox boy rolled out of the way to avoid the beast's claws and swinging tail. Naruto continued to dodge blow after blow. He didn't want to risk getting closer to a healthy manticore. Their last opponent was vulnerable and week due to its new blindness. But this monster would shred him to ribbons if he got as close as he did in his last encounter.

Sasuke struggled to his feet. His right leg had enormous claw marks gouged into his flesh. Blood flowed in rivers down his injured limb soaking his fur. By the time he managed to take one step Sakura was by his side.

"Don't move," Sakura instructed. She leaned in close to inspect the wound. She touched the edges tenderly but even the slight pressure made him whine. She motioned for him to lay back down to she could attempt to treat him. "I don't have much supplies with me to treat a wound this large. This will have to do until we head back." She pulled out a roll of bandages and a large patch of gauze and began quickly working to cover the wound.

Sasuke let out a growl as she pressed on the injury. When she was finished she pressed her face into his shoulder and ran her fingers through the fur on his back. She was very concerned, simply bandaging the wound wouldn't help. The depth and the size of the injury required stiches, and a lot of them.

A fierce growl rumbled in Sasuke's chest making Sakura looked up. Naruto barely managed to avoid another slash from the manticore. It was obvious that he was tiring. Sasuke tried to get up once again only for Sakura to hold him down. "Don't even think about it."

After making sure that Sasuke wasn't going anywhere, Sakura raised her crossbow again and began firing. A few of the bolt met their mark but due to the mobility of this manticore they didn't hit any vital spots.

They were lucky to take down the first manticore, but beating this one was going to be much more difficult. Sasuke normally didn't like asking for help, but this time he didn't have a choice. He sat up and threw his head back and let out a loud howl. The sound reverberated through the forest.

There was no other wolves around to understand what he was saying, but the message was still received. After a few more minutes of battling with the manticore the tide was finally going to be turning in their favor.

Sakura was out of bolts and Naruto had lost his knife when he stabbed the creature. The blade had stuck in the creature's wing and he was knocked away before he could remove it. Without weapons they were dead.

The manticore had cornered the three of them and was slowly stalking towards them. It was breathing heavily its body was spotted with minor injuries.

A small ball bounced into the area they were fighting and rolled to a stop between them. Sakura recognized it immediately.

"Flash bomb!"

The three of them instantly closed their eyes and turned their heads away. And not a moment too late. The bomb exploded filling the forest with a bight blinding light. The manticore roared angrily and stumbled. It shook its head back and forth trying to clear the spots from its vison.

While it was distracted a multitude of gunshots rang out in the night. The manticore wobbled and struggled to stay upright before finally collapsing. It was dead before it hit the ground.

The rest of their hunting party emerged from the brush their weapons of choice still raised. Each of them slowly lowered their weapons once they confirmed that the beast was dead.

"Holy shit! What is that?" Kiba shouted. He kicked the corpse with his boot. "This is no harpy."

"It's a manticore. The pair of them killed the harpy nest that was here," Naruto informed them of their find. His demonic features faded as soon as the threat was gone. Luckily for him no one seemed to notice the change.

"We need to head back now!" Sakura shouted while digging through her bag. She pulled out a pair of shorts from her field bag and tossed it to Sasuke. Sakura made sure to carry at least an extra pair of pants incase Sasuke had to change back into a human, less he run around in the buff. "Change back quickly. Let us help you walk."

Everyone in the area could see the blood already beginning to seep through the bandages. Sasuke needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Wanting to give him some privacy they turned their backs while Sasuke changed back into human form.

The change back was painful. The shifting and stretching of his muscles aggravated the gashes on his leg. Sasuke screamed and clutched his leg as his transformation came to an end.

Sakura worked as fast and efficiently as she could. His bandaged needed to be readjusted to fit snuggly on his much smaller human leg. Once that was finished she gently pulled him to his feet and helped him step into the shorts.

Sasuke had his arm slung around her shoulders allowing him to take his weight off his bad leg. When they started walking the others turned around at the sound of their footsteps.

Immediately Naruto came up to them. "Let me carry him." Sasuke was taller and broader than Sakura making it difficult for her to support him.

"You're hurt too," Sakura argued. While Naruto had suffered nothing too severe he had managed to get a few large scratches and a couple of bruises.

Naruto was about to protest but Chouji and Shino stepped up. "Don't worry we got him," Chouji said cheerfully. He took Sasuke's arm from Sakura and draped it over his shoulder. Shino wordlessly did the same with his other arm.

Sasuke let out a disgruntled growl as they started to move. Sakura rested a hand gently on his back to quiet him. She knew that touching wasn't really his thing. But the faster they could get him to the hospital for treatment the better.

Their pace was low but Sasuke couldn't move any faster. Kiba and Akamaru ran ahead to give the hospital a heads up. They couldn't just walk through the front with Sasuke bleeding out like that. Civilians would surely come around snooping.

The rest of them moved in a protective circle around Sasuke, Chouji, and Shino with the exception of Sakura who stayed next to them.

Sasuke's gaze drifted from one person to the next. Their treatment suppressed him, he was never really close to them and considered them more acquaintances than actual friends. He had kept all of them except for Naruto and Sakura at arm's length. But they treated him like he was important to them, like friends. Maybe he misjudged these hunters. Or perhaps he wasn't able to think properly due to blood loss.

When they reached the edge of the forest there as a few cars waiting for them. It was some of the association's SUVs. "I already called the hospital," Kiba said while opening one of the rear doors. They carefully helped Sasuke into the car and hurried to the hospital.

Once they reached the hospital they took Sasuke through the back entrance down to the bottom floors. By the time they got him seated in the examining table the bandage on his leg was soaked through and small streams of blood flowed down his leg.

The bright light of the hospital sowed how pale and pasty his complexion had become due to blood loss.

Everyone else opted for either waiting outside or heading back to the base yard to report the success of their mission. Sakura was the only one to remain in the exam room with him. Naruto wanted to stay with the two of them but a few nurses forced him into his own exam room to patch up his few minor injuries.

After only a few moments of waiting the door slammed open, rattling on its hinges.

"Who is bleeding all over my floor?! We just got this place cleaned!" Tsunade shouted as she burst into the room. Sakura looked on dumbfounded and Sasuke scoffed. "Oh it's you. I'm assuming the hunt was a success?" she asked.

"Yes, but there was a few unexpected circumstances." Sakura answered, her gaze dropped to her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She knew that she was over reacting. Sasuke wasn't going to die from his injuries, but seeing him in so much pain really bothered her.

"Of course there was," Tsunade placed her hands on her hips as she spoke with her disciple, "You can't expect everything to follow the ideal procedure and go as planned. It's almost required that something unexpected occurs and sends your well made plans straight to shit."

"Yeah, your right." Sakura kept her head lowered, starting to feel a bit down. She strived to improve herself, to be better. She took everything to heart. Hearing such disappointment from someone she looked up to so much was hard to stomach.

Sasuke knew that Sakura didn't take harsh criticism well and decided to intervene. "Still bleeding here," he grumbled. His grouchiness drew the attention of the two other occupants of the room.

Tsunade blinked a few times at him, as if just remembering that he was there. The head doctor of the hospital swayed slightly as she made her way over to Sasuke.

It was then that Sakura noticed that her aunt's cheeks were slightly more rosy than usual. She stood up abruptly and shouted, "Are you drunk?!" All her meekness forgotten.

"Only a little," Tsunade waved her off with a few flicks of her wrist, "Now let's see what we have here." She leaned in a pulled away the bandages. Sasuke hissed when the wounds were reintroduced to the air.

After inspecting the damage done to his leg she made her way over to the cabinets and pulled out some surgical suture and a needle. "Nothing a few stiches can't fix."

"Aren't you even going to disinfect it first?!" Sakura was appalled at the misconduct that was happening before her.

Tsunade mumbled something that sounded like 'Oh, right' before moving back to the cabinet and pulling out the missing supplies and some anesthetic.

Sakura plucked the things from Tsunade's hands. "Maybe I should do it. My hands are a bit steadier than yours." One glance at Sasukue and Sakura could tell he was not about to let a drunk Tsunade get anywhere close to him with a needle. Tsunade shrugged and motioned for her to get started.

When Sakura approached him Sasuske raised an eyebrow curiously. "Have you ever done this before?"

Sakura smiled sheepishly at him, "Not really. I'm only a volunteer and technically I'm not allowed to be doing stuff like this."

"Great, I'm going to come out looking like Frankenstein." Sakura was about to get upset with him, but his slight smirk told her that he was only joking with her. Anyone other than Sakura would have missed the signs and would have been offended.

"Maybe I should let Aunty Tsunade work on you," she whispered. Sasuke's growl made her giggle.

With Tsunade supervising Sasuke's stiches were competed in a well-mannered fashion.

After Sakura finished cleaning up the dried blood from Sasuke's leg, Tsunade leaned in to inspect the stiches. "Not bad. Not bad. Now that you won't bleed out we need to replenish the blood that you lost. But we don't exactly have wolf blood in storage."

"Can his body accept a transfusion with human blood?" Sakura asked. They never had a situation like this before.

"We'll find out soon. We can give him a small bit to start off with and watch his body for any negative responses. Hopefully his body won't reject it."

"And if it does?" Sasuke scowled.

"A little bit shouldn't harm you but large doses may make you really sick." With that said she left the room to pick up some bags of blood.

"How does she manage a hospital drunk?" Sasuke turned to ask Sakura.

Sakura shrugged, "I don't know how she does it." For someone who spends most of her spare time, and even her work time drinking Tsunade was one of the best doctors around. "But you can't argue with her results. How are you feeling?"

Sasuke dragged a hand down his face and let out a deep sigh. "A bit lightheaded." Sakura leaned against the table and wrapped her arms around him and pressed her forehead to unto his shoulder. Normally Sasuke would stiffen up and reject physical contact such as this. But as always, Sakura was the exception. She avoided hugging and petting him in public because she knows it makes him uncomfortable, but when they were alone she was much less reserved.

"I'm sorry you got hurt. You don't benefit from these hunter things at all but you still help us out." Her voice cracked towards the end of the sentence, tears forming in her eyes.

Sasuke slowly unwrapped her arms and held both her hands in his larger ones. She was unable to hide the few stray tears that trailed down her cheeks. "Don't feel sorry for things you can't control. I would have gone with you no matter what the focus was. And I still would, because-"

Before he could finish Tsunade returned with as much enthusiasm as the first time. The door was bound to fly off its hinges soon. "Here we go!" She stared at them for a few seconds as she soaked in the scene that she had just interrupted. "What are you doing? Why is Sakura crying mongrel?"

"It's not him I'm just being over emotional," Sakura smiled and wiped the tears off her face. Tsunade and Sasuke glared at each other before they were interrupted by the squeaking of wheel against the tiled hospital floor.

A smiling nurse pushed a wheelchair into the room. "Here you go kid." Tsunade motioned to the chair with a smile. Sasuke's dark expression clearly expressed his reluctance to use the wheelchair. "If you don't stay of that leg for a while the stiches are going to come off," Tsunade scolded, "I will put a cone on you if you pick at them."

Sakura couldn't hold back a laugh as she imagined Sasuke with a cone around his neck.

At the threat Sasuke growled at her, "There is no way in hell I would let you put something so demeaning on me."

"Down boy, it was a joke," Tsunade laughed. "Now hurry up we don't have all night. The table isn't very comfortable so we're moving you to a room. We'll start the transfusion there."

With the threat of a drunk Tsunade redoing his stiches if they ripped open while trying to walk, Sasuke sat in the wheelchair while they moved him to a room. Sakura convinced the nurse to let her push the wheelchair and after a small growl from Sasuke she gladly agreed. She mumbled something about other patients to attend to as she quickly took her leave.

Once he was settled nicely in the bed they began the blood transfusion. He had machines connected to him to monitor his vitals. "How's it feel?" Tsunade asked.

"It stings a little but it dissipates as it passes my elbow," Sasuke answered. He winced a little as Tsunade prodded his arm.

"Everything looks normal. A bit more then we can take you off this thing. You heal extraordinarily fast so a little bit of boost should be all that you need to regenerate on your own." Tsunade smiled at him before waving and heading toward the door. "I'll see you in the morning. Call if you need anything. And Sakura needs to go to bed so say good night."

Sakura hung around a few minutes more to make sure that Sasuke was truly comfortable now that the transfusion was over.

"You better get going before she comes back and you're still here," Sasuke said.

"I'll come see you in the morning. Behave and don't cause too much trouble," Sakura teased. Sasuke rolled his eyes at her, making her giggle.

With Sasuke's healing ability he should be healed enough to be able to walk around without too much discomfort. If he was lucky Tsunade would even let him come home. When Sakura left the hospital she was surprised to see Naruto, Hinata, and Ino waiting there.

"It's about time!" Ino complained, "So how is he?"

"A bunch of stiches but he's going to be fine. How is everyone else doing?" Sakura asked. Naruto had a few bandages here and there but was still as hyper as ever. Hinata had a rather large gauze patch on her cheek. Sakura started to feel bad. She had been so focused on Sasuke that she hadn't noticed that anyone else had gotten hurt.

"N-nothing really serious, just some small cuts here and there," Hinata answered and gently touched the gauze on her face.

"Those stupid bird brains! Scratching Hinata's pretty face!" Naruto shouted.

His ranting was interrupted when Ino smacked him in the back of the head. "Shut up! Do you know what time it is?! There are patients that are probably trying to sleep." That began a rather loud argument between the two blonds while Hinata turned bright red at Naruto's compliment about her being pretty.

Sakura checked her phone and was shocked to find that it was already past midnight. She wasn't too surprised that Naruto was still here and Naruto's presence also meant that Hinata would most likely be there too. But she never expected Ino to wait around this long.

"We should probably head home now, it's getting late," Sakura spoke up. She had to raise her voice a little so that Ino and Naruto could hear her over their bickering.

"Uh, about that," Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I kind of hung around because I don't have a ride. Jiraiya dropped me off earlier and he's not answering his phone. He's probably fast asleep by now."

Hinata had to struggle to find her voice as she practically whispered, "I can give you a ride home Naruto."

Naruto's eyes lit up and practically sparkled. "Really? That would be awesome! Thank you!" He gave Hinata a big bear hug that made her face light up like a Christmas tree. Naruto chattered the whole way to the car while Hinata tried and failed to hide her blush.

"I think he does that on purpose," Ino said. "I mean he could have asked anyone for a ride and he waits until it's just the three of us left."

"I think it's cute," Sakura giggled. Hinata liked Naruto for so long but she's too shy to be more forward and Naruto is oblivious. Well, maybe not as oblivious as everyone seems to think. Hinata had a crush on Naruto since they were children but she could never muster up the courage to speak more than a few sentences to him. "He finally started paying more attention to her after we started high school. I'm happy for her."

"It was after Hinata started growing boobs," Ino commented. Sakura gaped at her friend. "Come on, you have to admit they're huge!" Sakura and Ino were a bit jealous that Hinata was blessed with a rather large chest. Sakura looked down at her own not so developed breasts and sighed. "I guess Tsunade took the big boobs gene and didn't leave you with much."

"Shut up Ino!" She didn't need a reminder how flat she was compared to her voluptuous aunt.

Luckily Naruto and Hinata were far enough away so they couldn't overhear the conversation the two girls were having. They smiled as they watched their two friends drive off. Finally, Ino had been waiting forever to talk to Sakura. "So how are you feeling? You looked kinds freaked out earlier." The playful air from just moments ago was replaced with a much more serious tone.

"Sasuke's going to be fine. I was just really worried about him, those were nasty lacerations."

"You're so lucky that you have Sasuke," Ino whined.

Sakura smiled, "Yeah we were. Without Sasuke those manticore would have probably killed Naruto and I."

"I wasn't talking about that Forehead. I meant his body! He's fucking hot and you get to see him naked all the time!" Ino covered her blushing cheeks with the palms of her hands as she began to giggle. Ino never did like serious conversations.

Now it was Sakura who turned bright red. "What do you mean by that?! He has to shift sometimes but it not like I see him naked each time."

"But there's other times you get to see that fine ass too right?" Ino waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Sakura.

"No! I mean were just friends," Sakura's voice trailed off at the end and looked shyly at her friend. It would be just like Ino to wait for her that long just to gossip and embarrass her.

Ino narrowed her eyes and smirked at her. "But you like him right? It's so obvious. And he probably likes you too. I try to be nice to him and all, but I would be lucky to get a few words out of him. He holds you on a different level than the rest of us."

"You really think so?" Sakura smiled, hope filled her and replaced the embarrassment that Ino was causing. She knew from when she was a child that she loved Sasuke, but she never thought that there was a chance that he would feel the same way. He saw her as family, someone to care for and protect. But did he love her that way?

"Yeah. It's like the perfect love story! A little freaky though…"

"Why would it be freaky?"

Ino paused and contemplated her answer a bit before answering, "Well, I don't know what you're into, but I'll pass on the beastiality."

Sakura never blushed that much in her entire life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: Updating a bit early since I'll be busy for the next few days when this chapter was supposed to be released. I read this over a few times but I have this feeling there are errors I'v overlooked. Let me know if you guys spot some, more than usual :P Enjoy!**

The soft creak of the door opening was enough to awaken Sasuke from his slumber. He had fallen asleep almost as soon as Sakura left earlier that morning. While he normally wasn't a morning person and was rather grouchy in the morning, the thought of leaving the hospital put him a better mood. He always thought it smelt of disinfectants and sick people and spent as little time there as possible, unless he was waiting for Sakura. In addition to getting out as quickly as possible the thought of seeing Sakura allowed him to tolerate this morning a little more too.

"Good morning sleepy head!"

Upon opening his eyes his semi good mood was instantly demolished. Kakashi's face was not the first thing he wanted to see when he woke up.

He sat up and frowned at his teacher rather than giving him a return greeting. Kakashi might be the only older hunter that Sasuke truly had any respect for, but he was a bit odd. "Congratulations on completing your first real assignment," Kakashi smiled, "Glad to see your recovering nicely."

Sasuke looked over at the clock to see that it was only about 7:00. "Why are you here so early?"

"I just wanted to check on one of my favorite students of course." If he was always late to everything why the hell was he here so early? Sakura and Naruto were early birds but Sasuke always more nocturnal. "So how's the leg?"

"Its fine I guess," Sasuke answered. The throbbing pain was still there but it was much more tolerable than before.

There was a knock on the door before it was pushed open. "Oh I didn't think you would have visitors this early, but I wanted to catch you before you ran off."

Kabuto Yakushi was Orochimaru's assistant. He was a young man with grey hair that was kept back in low ponytail. He was wearing dark purple scrubs and his usual round glasses. Besides working with Orochimaru he was a nurse at the hospital. A few months after Sasuke arrived Orochimaru had moved most of his work to his lab and rarely visited the hospital. He still worked on the needed medicines but he only saw patients if Tsunade really needed his assistance.

"You were supposed to come in for your appointment the other day," Kabuto reminded him. Ever since Orochimaru had first drawn his blood he had been going to see him for more tests and checkups. They couldn't really send him to a normal doctor, so Orochimaru and his scientists where the next best thing. They also wanted to know how he developed and if it differed from the growth of a human child. Sasuke never knew what exactly they were testing what the results were, and he didn't really care. He had no interest in science, genetics, and all that crap.

During his sessions they mostly took blood samples and the occasional saliva swab. In the past few years they had hooked him up to some strange contraption that supposedly monitored his vitals and had him transform. They wanted to know the stress, if there was any, that the body went through during the transformation. Everything about him seemed to fascinate the two scientists.

Under normal circumstances Sasuke would never allow himself to be a lab rat. But before he agreed to go along with the additional tests that Orochimaru and Kabuto asked of him, they had promised him something of great importance. He was willing to comply with whatever they needed as long as they held up their end of the agreement.

"I forgot," Sasuke admitted.

Kabuto smiled and shrugged his shoulders, "It happens, but do you mind if I can get a small blood sample. You can just come see us once your injury is fully recovered." He pulled a small syringe out of his pocket.

"I had a blood transfusion last night. Would that affect the sample?"

"Oh and it was successful? No side effects or anything?" Kabuto's eyes seemed to light up as he pocketed the needle. When Sasuke shook his head Kabuto moved to check the clipboard on the table to see just what procedures had been done. "Very interesting!"

He placed the clipboard back down and smiled, "Let's just check on how well your leg is healing." Sasuke turned to that his legs were hanging off the edge of the bed. Kabuto examined the stiches and reached out to help Sasuke to his feet.

Kakashi placed a hand on the boy's shoulders to steady him when he swayed slightly. His leg hurt a lot more now that he tried to put some weight on it.

"Looks like everything is healing nicely, and rather quickly too. I don't think they're going to keep you another night. Don't come see us until you're all healed up. And no strenuous exercises until he's fully healed, okay Kakashi?" Kabuto joked with the hunter.

"Yes sir." Kakashi gave Kabuto a mock salute and helped Sasuke sit back down on the bed.

"Tsunade will come to see you to double check on you before you're released," Kabuto said. He waved good bye and left the room.

"I doubt you'll listen when I tell you to take it easy, but at least try alright?" Kakashi said in a gentle voice. They may not seem like it, but Kakashi was the closest thing to a father figure. He looked out for him and tried to mentor him where ever he could.

Sasuke looked away and gave a small nod. The two of them sat together rather enjoying the quiet of the morning. It didn't last long however when someone pounded on the door.

Sasuke hoped that Sakura had finally showed up to take him home. The third times the charm. But his hopes were once again crushed when Naruto came prancing into the room.

"Hey Sasuke! Is the leg still attached? It didn't fall off during the night did it?" Naruto asked.

"Of course not, you idiot," Sasuke responded a tiny bit of irritation could be heard in his voice.

"Well sorry for showing concern for my best friend's wellbeing."

Before the conversation turned into a full blown argument, Kakashi intervened. "So Naruto, care to tell me how last night's adventure was?"

Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement and began to describe everything in vivid detail. He waved his arms in exaggeration and even acted out some of the events from the hunt. Kakashi watched in amusement and occasionally pointed out a few things that they could do to improve next time. Every time Kakashi spoke up Naruto would freeze up and listen intently to what he had to say.

While Naruto was nearing the end of his tale the door burst open, again.

"There you are! I was wondering where the hell you ran off to." Jiraiya shouted while pointing an accusatory finger at the blond boy. "You woke me up early just so you can retell your little story for the 5th time?!"

Jiraiya was a very tall man with long white bushy hair. At first glance he was rather intimidating, but his rather foolish nature easily distorted that image. He was a famous hunter that was known for his triumphs while teamed up with Tsunade and Orochimaru. Unlike his other two teammates who still were very involved with the association, Jiraiya was more focused on his day job of being a writer. He was made popular by some very explicit novel that was also a favorite of Kakashi's. He may attend a council meeting from time to time but that was the extent of his involvement with the hunters as of late.

Naruto began to shout back while Kakashi nodded in greeting to the senior hunter.

Sasuke didn't exactly like Jiraiya. He was just as loud and exuberant as Naruto, but to make matters worse he was also a huge pervert. He had once made a comment to Sakura on how well she was 'developing'. Before Sasuke could even get a chance to attack the perv Sakura rewarded him with a harsh stomp to his foot that was strong enough to break bone.

After that time Sasuke always tried to stand between Sakura and the older man. But it was unnecessary since apparently Sakura had told her aunt about Jiraiya and she took the liberty to beat the shit out of her old friend for her. From that day on Jiraiya kept his comments, and normally grabby hands, to himself to avoid any more bodily harm.

Sasuke watched the two of them bicker while Kakashi leaned onto the wall and enjoyed the scene that was beginning to unfold. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at all of them. His day was starting out terribly.

* * *

Sakura was having a wonderful morning. She had a great nights rest and a yummy breakfast. But the best part of all was remembering the wonderful turn of events that had occurred the night before.

_When Sakura arrived home after leaving the hospital she was surprised to see the lights in her house were still on. She should have known that her parents would wait up to hear about how the mission went. _

_Her mom practically pounced on her as soon as she opened the door. "I was so worried about you," Mebuki whispered into her daughter's hair. _

_While they embraced each other Kizashi stood up from his chair at the table and slowly made his way around it. He moved closer to him family and leaned back on the table for support. "I thought it was going to be a relatively simple assignment. What took you so long? What happened?" _

_Detangling herself from her mother she went over to embrace her father. "There was a pair of manticore that killed the harpies before we got there."_

"_Manticore?! That's more than a few beginners can handle." Kizashi smiled as he held his daughter close. "We're so proud of you. And you came home with hardly a scratch."_

_Sakura pulled away slowly with a frown on her face. "Not exactly. Sasuke got hurt. I know you don't like him dad but if he wasn't there I would probably be dead." Her parent's eyes widened in astonishment._

"_Is he alright?" Mebuki walked up to her daughter and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. _

"_He's in the hospital. He was hurt pretty bad but it's not life threatening. I'm pretty tired, I think I'm going to go to bed." Sakura said hiding a yawn behind her hand. She didn't want to keep thinking about Sasuke bleeding on the forest floor. He was perfectly safe now but that image still haunted her and made her feel ill._

"_Have a good rest you deserve it," Mebuki smiled. She watched her daughter disappear into her room before going up to her husband. Kizashi was still stunned about what Sakura had told them. He knew that Sasuke and Sakura were closer than he would like, but he never would have thought that the boy would risk his life for his daughter._

"_Are you okay dear?"Mebuki asked while wrapping her arm around her husband's middle, allowing him to lean on her for some support rather than the table. The two of them slowly made their way back to the chair where Kizashi's cane lay._

"_I don't believe that. I don't believe that he would go through so much to protect her," he frowned._

_Mebuki smiled sadly at her husband, "Why? He's been living with us long enough for you to know that he will always take care of our little girl."_

_Kizashi stepped away from his wife once he held his cane securely. "After what happened I guess I just don't expect much from them. If he would help her without a second thought then why wouldn't they help us?" He glared at his cane as if it was the focus of his hate. And in a way it was. He let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Perhaps I misjudged him."_

_Mebuki smiled warmly at her husband and gave him a quick kiss. It seemed like he was slowly starting to let go of his hate and rage. While her husband made his way to their room Mebuki stopped by Sakura's room to check on her one last time._

_After a few soft knocks Mebuki pushed open Sakura's door to see her daughter standing in the middle of the room with clean sleep clothes gripped firmly in her hands and a huge smile on her face. "It's rude to eavesdrop," she tried to scold but she couldn't help but return her daughters grin._

_Sakura blushed slightly and stuck out her tongue playfully. "That wasn't my intension. I was going to take a shower before I went to bed when I just so happened to hear your conversation." Sakura giggled while her mom shook her head with a smile on her face. "It may have taken about 12 years but I think dad may actually start to like Sasuke."_

"_Like may be pushing it a bit far," Mebuki smirked. But her cheeriness faded at Sakura's next question._

"_I know Dad doesn't like werewolves, but there has to be a reason for it." Most of the other hunters got over the fact that Sasuke's a wolf a long time ago, but her father had held onto his grudge for a really long time. "Why does he hate Sasuke?"_

_Mebuki was actually surprised that Sakura hadn't asked her this before. "He does have a valid reason for disliking wolves. Do you remember when he injured his leg?" Sakura shook her head. She was really young when Kizashi had come home after a hunt badly injured. "He and a few others had to remove a couple of ogres that were causing a ruckus. It should have been a simple assignment, but they didn't expect a demon to be there as well. The ogres were not too much trouble but the demon was vicious."_

_Ogres are large gargantuan humanoid monsters that were more brawn than brain. At average they stood about 9 feet tall. In this case the demon was probably manipulating them._

_Demons came in hundreds of shapes and sizes. This particular one was small, completely black with beady blood red eyes, and had a pair of horns and bat like wings. It moved like a shadow, swift and silent, tearing flesh and bone as it went by._

_Mebuki eyes began to water as she recalled the story. "After beating the three ogres they focused on taking out the demon. They finally managed to defeat it, but not before it killed three of the five men. You dad was one of the two who had survived. But he didn't realize that one of the ogres was still clinging to life as it lay bleeding on the ground. As he walked past its body the ogre swung its club and it hit him. It shattered the bones in his leg and left the muscles in tatters."_

_Sakura had always wondered what had caused her dad's injury, but it was such a sensitive topic for him that she felt bad bringing it up. "But I don't see what that has to do with werewolves. If anything I would think that he wouldn't like Naruto." Naruto may have been afflicted by a fox demon, but it was a demon none the less._

"_That's not the worst part," Mebuki frowned. "That whole thing. The death of those men, his injury could have all been avoided. There was a pair of wolves standing in the forest watching the whole thing. They were only noticed after they had made sure to finish off all the ogres."_

_Sakura was quick to come to their defense. "Maybe they had just got there after everything was already over. They probably heard the fighting and came to check it out."_

_Mebuki shook her head sadly, "But when your dad called out to them pleading with them for help they didn't move, they just stood there and watched. Then they turned around and left. They abandoned your dad and his teammate in the forest."_

"_Why? Why would they do that?" Sakura cried. How could anyone be so heartless?!_

_Then she came to a chilling realization. Her father's callousness toward Sasuke now made sense. "He expects Sasuke to stab me in the back someday. That's why he looked so surprised to see that he was hurt fighting with us."_

"_Yes. And to make things worse his leg never healed properly. He blames the wolves for his friend's deaths and his disability."_

"_But that's not Sasuke's fault! He can't be held accountable for what someone else did!" Sakura was almost shouting, "He's not like that!" No one should be accountable for something someone else did just because they were the same species, no matter how horrendous the crime._

"_And your dad is finally starting to see that," Mebuki said in a quiet voice that quelled her daughters rising fury. "He's starting to realize that Sasuke isn't the same as the wolves in the forest on that day."_

"_So, is there hope that one day the two of them will get along?" Sakura asked her hopefully._

"_Yes, I think so." Mebuki hugged her daughter again. "Now go take a shower you smell."_

_Sakura laughed her good mood returning and walked out of her room and headed for the much needed shower. After everything that her dad had gone through it wasn't a surprise that he hated Sasuke. But just like people, you can't hold someone accountable for something their race did. Maybe, just maybe, Kizashi was slowly letting go of his prejudice._

* * *

Her dad was finally starting to see the person that Sakura knew he was all along. All Sasuke has to do is behave and show his good side.

Sakura snickered to herself. Asking Sasuke to behave might be easier said than done.

By the time she left her house it was nearing mid-morning. Sasuke should be awake by now. Upon her arrival at the hospital she saw Kakashi and Naruto standing outside. Were they here to visit Sasuke too? If so, why were they hanging around outside?

Naruto noticed Sakura approaching and visibly paled. "G-good morning Sakura!" he tried to hide his nervousness but was failing horribly at it. Kakashi waved at her, seeming very amused by something.

"Morning. Why are you guys standing around outside for? Let's go see Sasuke." Sakura said.

"You can't!" Naruto shouted while flailing his arms making Sakura raise an eyebrow at him. "Um- well, Sasuke's missing."

"What?!"

"It's Naruto's fault," Kakashi said cheerfully.

"Don't blame this shit on me! It was you and the perv talking about your disgusting book that set him off." Naruto argued. How dare Kakashi try to place the blame solely on him?

Kakashi feigned a hurt look. "My books are not disgusting, they're master pieces. And I'll have you know, he was irritated long before that conversation began."

It was then that Sakura noticed the bag that Kakashi was carrying. That small bag of clothes was all that she needed to figure out what happened. "He transformed and ran off didn't he?"

Kakashi nodded while Naruto laughed nervously. Sakura let out an exasperated sigh and took the bag from Kakashi. "I'll go get him." Naruto pointed her in the direction that they saw him run off too. They chose not to go after him since he seemed to be a bit upset at them and would probably run off again if he saw them. They also would rather not risk getting bit.

Sakura wondered how Sasuke managed to reach the forest without anyone noticing him. The hospital was near the edge of town but there was still a few rows of buildings before civilization gave way to the wilderness. When she reached the forest she made sure to move through the underbrush as loudly as she could, snapping twigs and rustling leaves as she went. She wasn't concerned about attracting unwanted attention during the day since most of the dangerous creatures were nocturnal. With her calling for him and the racket she was making, Sasuke would be sure to hear her.

It took nearly ten minutes for the missing wolf to find her. Sakura put her hands on her hips and glared lightly at him. "Where have you been? What's wrong with you, running off like that?"

Sasuke huffed at her in response and flopped onto the forest floor with his back facing her. Sakura struggled to hide her giggles. He was still pouting over something. It was just so cute!

Sasuke sniffed at his leg with the lacerations on it before he began to lick at the stiches. Sakura noticed that there was blood on his leg. His transformation followed by his run to the forest must have torn some of the stiches.

She watched as he continued to clean away the blood and couldn't help but joke, "Maybe you do need a cone." Sasuke immediately stopped licking and growled at her. Instead of being afraid of him when he bore his fangs at her, Sakura only began to laugh harder. She ignored his upset growling and bent down to check his stiches.

Half of the stiches were broken letting the wound reopen. It still seeped blood but it was nothing like the night before. She was amazed that they held up as well as they did. "Let's get you back, these need to be redone.

Sasuke looked away from her and rested his head on his front paws. He grumbled and flicked his tail irritably. He did not want to go back. Sakura sighed and sat down next to him. She leaned into him and began to gently rub the space between his ears. Sasuke was tense, pain and irritation caused by their friends being the most likely cause.

They sat together, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the forest. After a while he began to relax, his rigid muscles loosened up and his tail began to gently sweep across the forest floor. Sakura waited ten minutes before asking him again, "Come on, we should really head back now." This time Sasuke nodded and rose to his feet. "There's some clothes in here. We can't have you walking back looking like that." She placed the bag of clothes next to him and took a few steps away to give him some privacy.

She waited patiently as Sasuke shifted, Ino's comments from the night before ringing in her head. A dark blush blossomed across her cheeks and she couldn't help but take a peak over her shoulder. She didn't know if she was glad or disappointed to see that he was already pulling a plain what shirt over his head.

Without all the fur in the way she could clearly see his wound. The skin around the cut was an angry red and some blood still trickled down his leg. It miraculously seemed to have healed a tiny bit since she last saw it. Sakura wordlessly went over and let him wrap and arm around her shoulders for support.

The walk back was slow as to avoid jarring his injury any further. "So what was so bad that you had to escape the hospital for?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Since nearly 7 in the morning there was nonstop talking between those three idiots. If I had to stay in that room with them any longer I would have torn someone's head off." Sasuke grumbled. Sakura grimaced as he told his tale. No wonder he ran off the poor guy must have been going insane.

Luckily they made it back to the hospital without drawing too much attention to themselves. By the time they arrived there was a nurse waiting for them at the entrance to take Sasuke to an exam room. They were informed that Tsunade wasn't at all pleased to hear that one of her patients was missing and after finding out why, she gave Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Naruto a very loud and rather vulgar scolding. The three of them were banned from the hospital for a few weeks unless they were on the verge of death.

When Tsunade finally came to check on him it was obvious she was still livid. The ruined stiches caused her to glare heatedly at Sasuke. He put up a brave face but if he was in his wolf form he most likely would have tucked his tail and lowered his ears. Sakura's aunt was fucking scary when she was pissed.

Sakura had to hide her giggled when she saw Sasuke tense and try to hide his nervousness.

"In most cases I would be pissed that you ran off and ruined your stiches but I'll let it slide this one time." Tsunade said. "Would you like to practice applying the stiches again?" She asked her niece.

Sakura perked up excitedly. "Sure!" It wasn't often that she was allowed to actually work with patients.

The work was quick and clean and his leg was set on the right track for healing. Tsunade wanted to release him since the main reason to keep him over night was to see if there was any side effects of the transfusion. But if he was going to keep ripping his stiches she was a bit hesitant.

"If I take him home I'll make sure he keeps of his leg," Sakura said. She knew that Sasuke hated hospitals and would like to leave as soon as possible.

Tsunade contemplated her offer for a second before nodding her head in agreement. "We'll provide crutches to keep as much weight off that leg as much as possible. He should only need it for a few more days. And no shifting."

Sakura guided him as Sasuke took his first tentative steps with the crutches. He never had to use something like this before, it made him feel uncoordinated and sloppy. Sasuke gave Tsunade a nod in thanks as he made his way past her.

"Give me a call if you need anything," Tsunade whispered to Sakura.

Sakura nodded cheerfully and gave her aunt a hug before continuing after Sasuke. The trip home went relatively fast. They didn't talk much but Sakura didn't mind. She figured that Sasuke probably wanted some peace and quiet after getting his ears talked off all morning.

When they reached their house Mebuki was at the door to greet them. She held the door open for them with a warm friendly smile on her face.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Sasuke.

"I'm alright," he answered. He settled down on the couch with a content sigh. Sakura sat down beside him and pulled out her phone. She had a few texts from Ino and Naruto.

"I'm glad that you're okay. Would you like anything to eat? I know the hospital food isn't the best thing out here." Mebuki offered.

"No thank you," Sasuke answered politely. He and Mebuki treated each other with a lot of respect. He did his best to engage in conversation with her when he felt like she wanted to talk, even if he wasn't very vocal. He helped her with any errands and tasks that she needed his assistance with. And in return she did what she could to make him feel comfortable and at home. She knew that there was no chance that she could replace his real mother, but she did her best to be a suitable mother figure for him.

The rest of the day went by without too many mishaps. Sasuke did start to get a bit fidgety but he couldn't really do much about it. Mebuki suggested that he stay on the couch rather than in his little house while he healed. That way he wouldn't have to walk across the yard every time he needed something.

The sun had just set when Sakura and Mebuki began to cook dinner. Sasuke remained stuck on the couch watching the evening news. Kizashi had just come home after finished a rather boring day at work. He greeted his wife and daughter with a kiss on the head each before moving to the living room where Sasuke was sitting. Sasuke and Kizashi made brief eye contact and gave each other a nod in greeting. Kizashi sat on the opposite end of the couch with the day's newspaper in his hand. They sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes. The TV continued to rattle off the current events, but neither were truly giving it much attention.

"Thanks." Kizashi's voice came out mumbled and extremely quiet.

Sasuke turned his head toward Sakura's dad. Even with his good hearing he could barely make out what was said. Did he just thank him?

"For what?" Sasuke asked in an equally quiet voice. He glanced over at the older man. Kizashi shifted slightly in his seat, his shoulder and back were stiff. The guy was obviously uncomfortable.

"For looking after Sakura. Please continue to protect her," Kizashi said.

Sasuke nodded, "Of course. You don't need to ask something like that." Sasuke looked back at the TV and Kizashi opened the paper and lifted it to block off his face. Their short interaction was officially over.

Sakura and Mebuki watched them from the kitchen. The older Haruno had a small smile on her face while the younger was pouting. "I was hoping for a bit more than that," Sakura sighed.

"Don't rush things. You father just feels very awkward with this new development. Give him some time and maybe one day the two of them will actually get along."

It was going to be a rough road but there was hope that one day Kizashi and Sasuke may actually be on friendly terms.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sasuke's wound had healed a miraculous amount after a day of taking it easy and not moving. He still had to use one crutch but his mobility was improving. Sakura was hesitant on letting him go to school that day but Sasuke refused to spend another day stuck on the couch. He was hurt not crippled.

Sasuke didn't particularly like school but it was better than doing nothing all day. They wrapped the injury and put a brace on his knee. If anyone asked he would just say that he hurt his knee. It was much easier than explaining that he had his leg torn up by a manitcore.

Since Sasuke slept on the couch Sakura was able to wake him up while she got ready for school. This was probably the first time that that they were early for school. The other students gave them curious glances when they arrived on campus.

Sakura held onto his arm just to make sure he wouldn't fall and stumble. Sasuke tried to fight her at first insisting that he was able to walk perfectly fine on his own, but he gave up when she refused to let go.

"Aww how cute," Kiba teased when they finally reached their group of friends. Naruto Lee and Chouji weren't there yet. Chouji was probably till eating breakfast and Lee most likely went for a run before school. It was strange for Naruto to be late, he was normally always early.

Sasuke glared at him while Sakura chuckled and rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder. "You're just jealous," she smiled.

Kiba faulted for a second causing the rest of the group to laugh. The two of them sat on the bench while they waited for the rest of their friends to show up.

"So a manticore huh?" Tenten asked while sliding up to sit next to Sakura. "Tell me all about it I've never seen one before." Everyone else was also interested in the story since no one really had a chance to ask them after they dropped Sasuke off at the hospital.

"Just wait until Naurto gets here. I'm sure that he would be ecstatic about telling you," Sasuke said. He received a few surprise glances since they had expected Sakura to answer and not Sasuke. After they showed him so much support after the last hunt he figured that he should be at least a little bit nicer to them. Maybe.

Soon enough, Naruto finally arrived. He stomped over to the grumbling under his breath. His normally happy upbeat persona was replaced by a grumpy pissed off attitude. "Stupid old perv, can't even wake up in the morning. Unreliable. How did I ever survive growing up with him?"

"What's got you so upset?" Ino asked.

Naruto ruffled his hair in aggravation. "Fucking Jiraiya that's what!" Naruto shouted. "Besides getting me kicked out of the hospital he goes out and does his 'research' and gets all drunk. So he ends up misplacing the keys and refuses to get up because of a hangover!"

Naruto only had his permit and was technically not allowed to drive on his own. Normally he wouldn't care and take the car anyway if Jiraiya was busy or didn't want to take him. But the problem was that they only had one car. With the keys missing he was forced to wake up a very pissed off Jiraiya which led to a lot of shouting. After arguing for a good while, Naruto finally found the car keys in the refrigerator and stomped out of the house and into the car that still reeked of booze.

After his rant Naruto stood there panting with a scowl on his face. "Actually, it was your own fault Tsunade banned you from the hospital," Sakura reminded him. Naruto huffed at her and crossed his arms across his chest.

Hinata approached him slowly and patted him on the back a bit awkwardly. "At least you made it on time and you won't get detention," she said. Her voice came out only slightly louder than a whisper and her cheeks were flushed red.

Naruto perked up immediately. "That's true." He turned and smiled at Hinata whose whole face lit up.

"Well now that you're here tell us what went down the other night," Kiba said excitedly. That definitely boosted Naruto's mood. He began his over exaggerated retelling for the umpteenth with a huge smile on his face.

Sasuke had already heard Naruto's retelling many times already and tuned him out. He rested his head against his arms on the top of the picnic table and began to doze. Kind of like how Shikamaru was doing.

While the rest of them were listening to Naruto, Sakura saw Ino silently motioning her over. "What is it?" she asked.

Ino's face split into a huge grin. That girl was a gossipy romance detector. "Someone is awfully clingy this morning. Spill what happened?"

Sakura was still elated about the progress her dad and Sasuke made and didn't care what Ino was going to think. "My dad and Sasuke are finally starting to get along. I guess saving my life helped my dad finally understand what kind of person Sasuke really is."

Ino watched the dreamy expression flitter across her best friends face. Normally Ino would playfully tease her, but this time she just returned her smile. No matter how many times she refused to admit she loved Sasuke, Ino knew the truth. Sakura loved him; it was extremely obvious. She just wished that the two of them would get together already!

The warning bell rang, signaling that school was about to start. Everyone quickly said their goodbyes and headed off to their respective classes. Sakura gently nudged Sasuke awake while Ino had to practically drag Shikamaru off the bench.

Sasuke and Sakura separated in the hall and headed to their own classes. Sasuke took his time not really caring if he was a bit late to class. To him the crutches were more than enough reason for his tardiness.

* * *

His class seemed to drag on and on. It was a blessing for the bell to finally ring and release the students. Sasuke waited until the rest of the students rushed out so he could take his time walking without being an obstruction. This continued for the next few classes. A few teachers and fellow students commented on his injury and asked about his wellbeing. Like always he kept his answers abrupt and to the point. His lack of detail didn't strike anyone as suspicious since Sasuke normally doesn't talk much anyway.

When it was time for lunch, Sasuke wobbled down the hall and headed to the cafeteria where Naruto was going to meet him to pick up their lunch. He wouldn't be able to hold his food and open doors and things with one hand so Naruto was there to help.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke groaned at the much too cheerful voice that seemed to echo down the hall. A girl with a low cut blouse and a very short shirt ran up to him and attached herself to his arm on his good side. He growled at her as she nuzzled his arm.

"Aww what happened to you? Did you get hurt?" she cooed.

"Of course I did. Why else would I be walking around in crutches?" He hated these girls. When he was younger most of the kids seemed to fear him, which he preferred. But as he got older the girls seemed to lose their fear and start flocking towards him. Now no matter what he did they wouldn't leave him alone.

"You're so funny," she giggled. Sasuke tried to shake her off with very little effect. These crazy girls had grips stronger than iron. Normally they wouldn't be so clingy but since he was handicapped she was taking advantage of that.

To his relief, Naruto came bouncing happily down the hall. "Oi Sasuke! There you are! I know you're supposed to be crippled but hurry up." He waited for some witty or rude comment and was slightly disappointed when he didn't get one. When he stopped directly in front of his friend he only then noticed his extremely irritated expression. It took him a second longer to notice the leech on his arm. "Huh? Who's this?"

The girl opened her mouth to answer but Sasuke cut her off. "No one. Just some stupid girl."

"You don't mean that," the girl said and bumped her hip affectionately with his. But the movement caused him to put more weight on his bad side and nearly stumble.

"Fuck off!" Sasuke snapped. He girl looked a bit startled and loosened her grip but didn't let go.

"You can hang out with me instead if you want. I'm much better company than this guy," Naruto suggested giving his best charming smile to the girl.

"No thanks," she scoffed and turned her head away. She let Sasuke's arm slip from her grasp and stepped away. "See you later Sasuke!" She turned on her heel and wandered back down the hall.

Naruto and Sasuke watched the girls retreating back with mixed feelings. Sasuke was still pissed but slightly relieved while Naruto was just amused. He never truly wanted that girls company, he just wanted to see her reaction. At first Naruto was jealous of all the attention Sasuke was getting while they were growing up. But now he just got a kick out of how uncomfortable and irritable Sasuke would get whenever he would get approached by strange girls.

"I don't understand what girls see in you," Naruto teased. "What's so attractive about being an asshole?"

His comment caused Sasuke to smirk. "It appears to work better than being a dumbass."

* * *

Lunch went smoothly without any strange or exciting occurrences. And so did the rest of the day, it was rather a bore. The last class of the day had finally finished and Sasuke was making his way slowly to the parking lot where Sakura was probably waiting for him.

"Well look what we have here."

Sasuke groaned. Why couldn't these people just leave him alone? Sasuke ignored the call and continued his on his way. But he only got a few more steps before he was yanked backwards and slammed into the wall.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" A big burly boy growled at him. Sasuke's shirt still clamped in his meaty fist. Three more other boys stood behind the first. All of them were bulky and wore school athletics jackets. Great, jocks.

"What do you want Takao?" Sasuke rolled his eyes at the other boy. Takao, this kid was a pain in the ass ever since he used to bully Sakura when they were children. He tried to bully Sasuke too. But it was difficult to bully someone who had previously beat the shit out of you.

Sakura had forgiven him a long time ago but Sasuke and Takao continued to but butt heads as they grew up. They had gotten into a few fist fights every now and then with the result always coming out the same. Sasuke would come out with a bruise occasionally but Takao would normally be bleeding or unconscious at the end of it.

Now that they were in high school, Takao was one of those icon popular kids. Chocolate brown hair and cool grey eyes on top of having a rather muscular build from excelling at so many sports caused girls to flock to him. Unlike Sasuke, he welcomed these girls with open arms and an open bed. He walked around campus with his gang like he owned the place.

Most of the other students either respected him or feared him. Since Takao knew that he couldn't win against Sasuke one on one he had started coming at him with a group. So far something had always come up and it hadn't let to a brawl just yet. Sasuke was almost always with Naruto and the blond boy would love to be a part of a huge scrap so Takao and his monkeys normally avoided them until Sasuke was alone. It was less trouble that way.

Takao was really lucky today. There was no sign on Naruto and Sasuke was walking around with a crutch. He couldn't ask for a better opportunity.

"Just checking on my good buddy," Takao taunted. "What happen to you?" he asked, his voice laden with sarcasm. Takao's buddies snickered in the background.

"Fuck off," Sasuke retorted. The insult instantly stopped their laughing.

"What did you say?" one of the boys glared at him.

Sasuke chuckled at them, "You guys think you're so tough but it takes four of you to try to intimidate one guy that's already hurt. Real scary."

Takao narrowed his eyes at Sasuke and pulled his other hand back ready to punch him. But Sasuke beat him to it. Sasuke used the end of his crutch to crush the bigger boy's toe. The pain caused Takao to recoil slightly and drop his fist. That was all Sasuke needed and followed up with and elbow to the gut.

The last blow knocked Takao away from him. "You little shit. I'll kill you," Takao gasped between clenched teeth. Sasuke just looked on coolly as the other three boys began to surround him. Sakura wouldn't be happy with him if he came home with bloodied clothes. Again.

"Is there a problem gentlemen?"

Immediately the boys backed up and turned to face the new comer. Kakashi walked leisurely down the hall, his famous book in hand. He smiled at the students as he got closer.

"No, we were just talking," one of the boys lied. They took a few steps away from Sasuke before completely turning around and walking away. Takao and Sasuke shared one more hate filled glare before they group left.

"I can handle them," Sasuke grumbled. He didn't need Kakashi to protect him against punks like that.

Kakashi chuckled, "I wasn't protecting you. I was protecting them." Sasuke raised a curious eyebrow at him. "I don't want to have to go through the trouble of suspending you for nearly killing fellow students. And I the janitors would be very upset if they have to clean blood off the walls and floor again."

Sasuke smirked, rather proud of his past accomplishments. They had to pull a lot of stings to keep from getting Sasuke expelled last time he got into a big fight with Takao and his flunkies.

Kakashi sighed, he knew exactly how Sasuke felt. He didn't care if he got suspended if it meant getting in a good fight. "At least try to keep out of trouble."

"Fine," Sasuke shrugged. His leg was almost healed and getting into a fight now would probably set him back a day or two. With a halfhearted wave, Sasuke made his way towards the parking lot. Kakashi stuck his nose back in his book and continued to wander the halls. It was amazing that he was able to maneuver while reading.

By the time he reached the car Sakura was already there waiting for him. She was sitting on the hood of her car fiddling with her phone. She looked up and smiled at him as she heard him approach. "Ino and Naruto want to hang out before we head home. Want to go?"

Sasuke's immediate thought was no, but Sakura kept looking at him with big cheerful eyes and his retort got stuck in his throat. He knew that she wanted to spend more time with their friends and all he would really do at the house is lie around. But going meant spending the rest of the afternoon with their rather loud boisterous passel of friends, not something he really felt like doing. Did Sakura know that she was giving him cute puppy dog eyes? Was she doing it on purpose?

"Sure," his response slipped past his lips without him realizing it.

She gave him a huge smile. "Great! Let's go!" Sakura pulled open the passenger door for him and practically skipped to the driver side. She knew that she could easily manipulate him. Sasuke was silent during the ride while Sakura hummed along to a song on the radio. Sasuke didn't ask where they were going. Knowing Naruto they were probably headed to some restaurant. Ramen, if he could get his way.

"So how was your day? Anything interesting happen in class?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke recalled the irritatingly clingy girl and his small tussle with Takao and his band of monkeys. "No not really. Boring as ever," he replied. She didn't need to know that he almost got into a fight and Sakura gets almost as agitated as he does when girls act that way around him. "How was yours?"

Unlike Sasuke, Sakura actually enjoyed school. She told him about the high points of her day all the way to their destination. Sasuke listened intensively, responding appropriately when needed.

Of course they arrived at a restaurant. To Sasuke's relief they chose a BBQ place. He never understood how Naruto could devour bowls of overly salty noodles like it was nobody's business. They were the last to arrive. Their reserved table was rather crowded, the only people who couldn't make it were Shino, Kiba, and Lee.

Ino waved them over and pushed Shikamaru aside to make room for Sasuke and Sakura. It was a rather tight fit. They had already ordered and had an assortment of food cooking on the grill in the center of the table. "I still think we should have gotten ramen," Naruto grumbled.

"You need some variety in your diet. Who can say no to these?" Chouji deeply inhaled the delectable smell wafting from the sizzling strips of meat. He was practically drooling, his eyes fixated on the food. Naruto slumped in his seat pouting.

"We can get ramen next time," Hinata offered.

Naruto grinned widely at that option. "Sounds great. Ramen tomorrow guys!" Everyone gave in reluctantly and agreed to let Naruto pick their destination next time. Only Sakura and Tenten seemed to notice Hinata's chest fallen expression. She probably wanted to take Naruto to get ramen without everyone else around but it was hard when Naruto loved to be around all his friends. And he just didn't catch the hints Hinata was dropping.

Sakura caught the older girl's eye and they shared a sad smile. Tenten shook her head and sighed. That poor girl would need all the help she could get.

Normally Ino caught onto these things, but she was currently busy fighting with Chouji over the best cuts of pork.

Once the food starting coming off the grill, Naruto began to cheer up. He even tried to feed Hinata with a bit of meat that was 'better' than the one she had chosen. Hinata instantly started blushing and stared almost fearfully at the food that hung at the end of Naruto's chopsticks.

Neji's expression instantly darkened and was about to stand up and object but Tenten intervened. She conveniently wanted something off the grill that was on the other side of Neji forcing her to lean across him to get to it. Her close proximity made Neji freeze and lean back in his seat. While he was thoroughly distracted, Hinata nervously opened her mouth for Naruto to deposit the food.

Naruto watched intently as she slowly chewed. "I-it's good," she stuttered. Naruto whooped and began to feed himself while talking animatedly to Hinata who was still bright red.

Sasuke watched his friend and rolled his eyes exasperatedly. Naruto was so childish. Sakura let out a small cry of surprise when Ino elbowed her in the ribs while fighting with Chouji. This caused Sakura to join in their argument. Sasuke watched craziness ensue over their table as he picked at the food in front of him. Why did he still hang out with these guys again?

* * *

After a few more days Sasuke's leg healed very well. There was a light scar where the manticore's claws had torn threw his skin, but that would fade in time. He ditched the crutches as soon as he could and went for a run. He was sick of taking it easy, he needed to get out there and do things.

It was finally the weekend and it was about time he visited Orochimaru. He was sure the scientist was egger to see him since he missed his last appointment. Sasuke strolled down the street his hands in his pockets. Sakura was volunteering at the hospital so Sasuke hitched a ride with her since Orochimaru's lab was only a few blocks away from the hospital.

It only took a few minutes of walking to reach the lab. The place looked like any normal office building from the outside. The only thing that might give it away was the rather complex looking number pad that sat just below the door handle. There was also a slot for keycards next to the number pad.

After punching in a short series of numbers a green light lit up on the side of the mechanism followed by a soft click of tumblers. Sasuke pushed open the door and entered the lab. The entrance was rather bleak with minimal decorations. This area served as their break room with a fridge and a mini kitchenette. Delving deeper into the building revealed a multitude of locked doors. Some doors led to laboratories while others held years of records and data.

There was a few men walking around in lab coats with clipboards in their hands performing miscellaneous tasks. Sasuke didn't know any of these grunts by name but he recognized some of them. They looked up as he approached and gave him wave which he returned with a slight incline of his head.

"Hey Sasuke. I was wondering when you would finally show up." Sasuke turned to see Kabuto coming out of one of the other rooms. "You look much better now. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke answered. He didn't consider himself close with Kabuto but he respected him enough to be polite.

Kabuto chuckled and stuck the clipboard under his arm. He knew Sasuke didn't like to mince words and would rather just get his appointment done with so he could leave. Kabuto turned down the hall and began to lead Sasuke to Orochimaru's main lab. This lab was in the basement of the building and took up nearly the entire floor.

Kabuto swiped a keycard that he carried on a lanyard around his neck before punching in another code to finally unlock the door. Orochimaru used to do pharmaceutical work for the hospital but he recently took some time off to strictly work on association business. The scientist was surrounded by partially filled vials and flasks as he observed something under the microscope. He would occasionally swivel in his chair to write notes down in a little battered notebook before turning back to the microscope. Orochimaru was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even seem to acknowledge the two new arrivals.

Kabuto knocked on the door frame as he walked through to announce their presence. Orochimaru lifted his head curiously and grinned widely as he caught sight of Kabuto and Sasuke. "Ah my favorite visitor," he smiled. "Glade to see you up and about again."

"What do you need from me today?" Sasuke asked.

Orochimaru turned off the microscope light and coved the petri dish he was examining. "I need more blood as always. Since you missed your last appointment I've run a bit short. I also have a few questions but other than that I think that's all I may need of you for today."

Sasuke nodded pulled out a chair to sit on while Kabuto went to get a few syringes. Sasuke was used to this by now and had his arm held out and ready by the time Kabuto came back. He barely left the prick of the needle and the slight pull as blood was syphoned out of his body.

While Kabuto went about collecting Sasuke's blood, Orochimaru began his questioning. "So heard you had a blood transfusion that was successful. How did you feel right after the transfer? Nauseated? Dizzy?"

Sasuke thought about it for a moment, thinking back to the night he spent in the hospital. "I didn't really feel anything different. Maybe a little sluggish but that could have been from blood loss."

Orochimaru nodded and scribbled on his notepad. "Did you transform after that? Any problems?" he continued his questioning.

"Of course I did. It was fine."

"Good good. It seems like there was no immediate or long term effects of the human blood," Orochimaru said. He helped Kabuto take the blood samples to their storage area and left Sasuke alone in the lab for a bit.

Sasuke slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. He did feel a bit light headed since they took much more blood than they normally did. They must be making progress with their experiments. The scientists would need a lot of samples in the next few stages of production.

Sasuke looked up as Orochimaru came back into the lab. Kabuto must have gone off to do something else, but Sasuke wasn't too concerned about his location. "How is the serum going?" he asked.

Orochimaru smiled and stuck his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "There has been some major improvement but it's far from being finished. But the fact that your body so easily accepted human blood is promising. We can now go about manipulating your blood in ways we never thought we could."

Sasuke sighed and hung his head. He agreed to help Orochimaru in his studies if the scientist promised to work on something for him. But it was taking much longer than Sasuke expected it would.

Orochimaru observed Sasuke's reaction, it seemed that the boy was starting to lose hope. "Why ask me to work on something like this anyway? Why do you want to be human?"

Sasuke looked away ignoring Orochimaru's question. His desire to be human was something he hadn't told anyone else. It wasn't that he was ashamed of being what he was, in fact he was damn proud. But being a werewolf had many downsides and they just seemed to keep piling up. Without asking, Orochimaru knew that his main reason for wanting that serum was because of Sakura.

More than anything, Sasuke wanted to be with Sakura. She was his best friend, the one who saved him when they were just children. She was the one who treated him with love and kindness when he needed it the most. Was it wrong for him to want more from her? Could he ask her to bind herself to him when he was just a monster hiding under human skin?

If for some insane reason she did want to be with him, she would be criticized by everyone. Most of the hunters tolerated Sasuke and treated him with mutual respect but they didn't truly like him. Sasuke couldn't give a rat's ass about what they thought about him but he cared for what people thought of Sakura. He probably would never get Kizashi's approval either. They were making slow progress and finally started to act civil to one another. But seeing eye to eye was very different from Kizashi letting his only daughter run off with a werewolf.

Orochimaru shook his head sadly, "If you were turned into a wolf them maybe we could develop a cure. But because you were born this way there is nothing that can change you from what you truly are."

Sasuke clenched his teeth angrily and stifled a growl. He knew this already. Orochimaru told him all of this when he first brought up the possibility of developing a 'cure'. "It doesn't have to be a cure. A suppressant is fine," Sasuke said angrily. If he could hide the qualities that made him different than maybe he could almost be human.

Orochimaru didn't really agree that this would help Sasuke, but developing this serum was a part of their deal. I will let you know if we have any breakthroughs. That should be it for today. Don't forget to check in with us in a week or two and make sure to grab something to eat on your way out since we took more blood than normal. I won't have you passing out in the street because you're anemic."

Sasuke nodded to him and began to climb the stairs back up to the main floor. He did feel slightly light headed but it wasn't anything serious. The stairs seemed to sway beneath his feet but his firm grip on the railing kept him from tumbling back down. After conquering the stairs he paused at the scientist's lunch table that had a few snacks sitting on it. Cookies and candies held no interest to him. He didn't really have much of an appetite anyway.

Sasuke took his time walking back to the hospital. Sakura would still have a few more hours of volunteering left and Sasuke didn't really have anything else to do. He walked through the sliding doors and nodded at the receptionist who gave him a friendly wave. She was an older woman who worked for the hospital for many years. She wasn't an actual member of the association but she cooperated with them. Her duty was to make sure that the 'special' cases were sent to only certain areas and doctors.

Sasuke came around the hospital so often that she could easily recognize him and knew who he was waiting for. "Want me to give Sakura a call for you?" she asked kindly.

"It's alright I'll just wait for her to finish." Sasuke walked to one of the far corners of the waiting room and slumped down into one of the chairs. Only a few minutes past before he fell asleep where his dreams were much more comforting than reality.

**A/N: I think I'll start updating on Sunday's instead of Tuesdays. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know if there's a bunch of errors I caught quite a bit when I was editing it. I hope I got them all.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sasuke was woken up by someone poking his cheek. He cracked open an eye to tell whoever it was to fuck off, but stopped when he saw Sakura looking at him amusedly. "There are better places to take a nap you know," she joked.

"Are you done?" Sasuke asked.

"Just finished. Come on." She held out her hand to help him up from the chair. He normally would refuse help for simple things such as this but he wasn't about to reject Sakura.

He felt a tingly warmth spread from their connected hands all the way to his chest. His blank façade hid this new warm feeling well. They held hands a moment longer than actually necessary before letting go. Sasuke instantly stuck his hands in his pockets and headed toward the door with Sakura close behind a huge smile on her face.

The sun had just set over the horizon but still managed to illuminate the sky with a bit more light before night completely took over. By the time they got back to the house it would be dark. Like usual, Sakura drove while Sasuke practically hung out the window.

Sasuke's head perked up suddenly. "Stop the car."

Sakura instantly pulled over. She knew that it must be something serious judging from his tone. "What is it?" she asked.

"I heard something." Sasuke opened the car door and stepped outside. His sniffed the air trying to locate anything abnormal. Sasuke had thought that he heard a high pitched scream but it was difficult to be sure while the wind was blowing in his ears.

There was no way that the unearthly sounds he thought he heard was created by a human, so that meant that some creature was wandering around close to town. After standing in that same spot for a few minutes, sniffing the air and straining his ears he couldn't pick out anything out of the ordinary.

"Everything okay?" Sakura asked, resting her hand on his arm.

"I thought I heard something. But there's nothing now." Just as Sasuke finished his sentence they saw a bright red flare burst through the tree tops of the forest. It was nearing dusk but the flare still lit up the sky with an ire red glow. "Go get help!"

Sakura jumped back into her car to get her phone to call the headquarters while Sasuke took off towards the forest line. Once Sasuke was deep enough into the forest where he could no longer see the town through the foliage he quickly stripped and transformed. It only took a few short moments for dark fur to completely cover his body that was morphing into a bigger more dangerous form.

Once his transformation was complete he sniffed the air again to search for the scent of whoever shot the flare. The warm forest scent was disrupted by the smell of people and blood. He sprinted as fast as he could in the direction the scent was coming from. As he ran his paws barely touched the forest floor as he flew through the underbrush.

It only took a couple of minutes for Sasuke to locate the hunters who shot the flare. There were four hunters total, three men and a woman. Two of the men were unmoving and hopefully only unconscious. The only woman of the group lay gasping against the trunk of a tree. Her hands where pressed to her side where a large gash was oozing blood. The blood seeped through her fingers and trained her clothes red.

The final man seemed to have a knee dislocated and was being dragged farther into the forest by what looked like a deranged woman. The man was putting up a fight kicking and screaming the whole way, but it didn't even seem to bother the woman. Sasuke faltered for a second as he tried to figure out what was going on. Why was that woman attacking them? How could one person do so much damage?

The crazy woman was abnormally thin and gangly with matted greasy looking hair. Her clothes were dirty and torn but it didn't seem to bother her at all. When she looked up at him Sasuke got a good look at her sunken face and completely black eyes.

_Demon possession_

That woman was possessed by a demon, and by the looks of it she had been under its control for a while. Normally demons that possessed people where small and weak, forcing them to live in groups to survive. These small demons influenced people's actions from the shadows and fed off the negative energy they would create. Once they became strong enough they could possess people and cause trouble. But most times they just caused mischief and slight mayhem, they never got extremely violent like this.

The woman hissed at him and took off into the shadows dragging her prisoner with her. Sasuke stepped up to one of the unconscious hunters and sniffed at him. The smell of blood was mostly coming from the woman but this guy had some small lacerations on his face and arms. Now up close he could see the man's chest slowly moving up and down. He was alive.

"Get away from him!"

Sasuke turned toward the injured woman to see her glaring at him, holding a bloody knife in hand. The demon must have stolen one of the hunter's knives and attacked her with it. Sasuke glared back at the woman, he was only checking to make sure that her teammate was alive. She should be grateful that he even showed up.

With an irritated snort, Sasuke chased after the demon. When he caught up to them he found the demon standing over the man who was now unconscious. The woman held a rather large stone in her hand that had a splash of blood on it. She probably got tired of his trashing and bashed him over the head with whatever she could get her hands on.

Moving quickly, Sasuke launched himself at the demon. His body slammed into her hard, knocking her a few feet away. While the demon regained her footing Sasuke moved to stand between her and the unconscious hunter. He growled and bared his fangs at her.

"Why?"

His ears perked. Did she just speak?

"Why you attack me? Why defend the man thing?" Her voice was scratchy with a dual tone. The demon's high pitched voice overshadowed the woman's original voice. Sasuke stopped snarling and listened to her continue to babble on. "You are wolf. One of us. No belong with man things." She let out a horrible screech. "Man things bad! They kill us!"

Sasuke growled again when the woman lurched forward, her long dirty nails trying to reach for the man. Before the demon could get close Sasuke snapped his jaws at her, warning her to stay away. The demon understood and stopped her approach. Her eerie black eyes bore into Sasuke's red ones.

The demon began to talk again. Her voice started off calm but soon rose to the horrible screech it was previously. "We did nothing. Small troubles but no harm. But man things violent and angry. All gone. No one else. Lonely. They kill us all!"

Sasuke could picture her story through her broken speech. A group of small fry demons must have been living in the city and feeding off humans. Small demons like her weren't very dangerous, more a nuisance than anything. But the hunters found them and slaughtered them all. Her story was very similar to his own tragic past.

This demon was just like him. She was the last of her family and friends and in a terrible rage she went after the people who hurt her. If Sasuke was older when his family was killed would he have done the same? Would he have attacked the hunters out of revenge?

While he was thinking over what the demon was saying the demon had worked herself into a frenzy. She was making more horrible screeching noises while saliva dribbled out of her mouth and down her chin. "I KILL MAN THINGS! BEFORE THEY KILL ME!"

The demon ran at them her arms flailing in around in clawing motions in front of her. Her gaze was locked on to the man who lay vulnerable on the ground. As the distance closed, Sasuke lunged at the demon. She wailed in agony as his jaws clamped shut on her arm. Blood flowed out in thick streams as skin and muscle tore. She continued to flail wildly, trying desperately to reach her prey. Sasuke struggled to pull her away from the hunter. For having such a scrawny sickly looking body this demon was very strong.

Gun shots rang through the forest startling the pair. The demon screeched loudly as her body was assaulted with bullets. Sasuke winced as a few misfired shots hit him. The wounds weren't fatal but they hurt. The metal burned through his skin and worked their way deep into his body where they sat and festered.

Sasuke whimpered from the pain but made sure to keep his hold on the demon tight. But it wasn't necessary. The woman slumped to the ground a puddle of blood rapidly forming where she lay.

"Stupid pup." Her voice came out in a whisper with blood bubbling past her lips. She coughed more blood flowing from her mouth. "I heard of you. You live with man things, try to be like them."

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock. Other creatures knew of him? He never knew that they would even interact with one another. Living most of his life with humans gave him the idea that other creatures where mindless beings bent on causing chaos and destruction.

But what if they were wrong? They could have whole communities that lived and survived together just like people. Sasuke never met anything other than a wolf while his family was alive, but that was because he was young and never went far from home. They could have very well met and cooperated with other species.

Before her family was killed hadn't they just been living normally? Weren't they relatively peaceful? What made this demon different from him?

_Nothing_

"Why you protect them? You are one of us." Her voice got softer and softer. Sasuke could see her dark eyes clouding. "You don't belong with man things."

Her last sentence sent a cold chill through Sasuke. It felt like a block of ice had been dropped into his gut and froze his insides from the inside out.

He tried to shake the feeling that her words had bestowed on him as he glared at the demon's corpse. She didn't know what she was talking about. She was a deranged desperate demon. But no matter how many times he told himself otherwise, he couldn't ignore the truth in her words.

He was still glowering at her body when reinforcements showed themselves. They ignored him and went straight to the man who was still out cold. Once they knew he was still alive they went to check on the demon. They poked and prodded the corpse while talking amongst themselves in hushed voices. Sasuke glared angrily and backed away when one of the men kicked the corpse and sneered.

An overwhelming feeling of disgust forced Sasuke to turn around and walk away. The demon had been crazy but she wasn't always that way. She only became that way when the hunters killed her family. They caused her so much pain and grief and they didn't seem to care. Sasuke couldn't stand to be around them at the moment.

He winced when he put pressure on his front right leg. A bullet had pierced his right shoulder and made walking extremely painful. He limped away and they didn't even acknowledge him. He didn't get a thank you for saving their lives or an apology for getting shot.

Over the years he had gotten comfortable living with humans and being around hunters, but this incident was a terrible reminder why he used to, and should, hated them.

Xxx

Sakura was still outside the forest leaning on the hood of her car where she waited for Sasuke and the others to return. When she alerted headquarters about the SOS she saw they immediately sent reinforcements. When the other hunters arrived she explained what happened. Sakura didn't have her gear and didn't want to risk going out there without her weapon and some protection. She was forced to wait as she watched them hurry into the forest. The hunters had left their vehicles near hers so they would be coming out the same way they went in.

When they finally returned she jumped up and ran over to them.

"Are they okay?" she asked while looking at the unconscious men and the injured woman that was supported between them.

"We think that they were just knocked out but we're taking them to the hospital just in case," one of the hunters responded.

Sakura watched as they loaded their comrades carefully into the SUVs when she suddenly realized that Sasuke wasn't with them. She looked back at the forest line to check if he was coming, but there was no one.

"Where's Sasuke?" Most of the hunters were already settled in and just about to go unconcerned that they were missing someone. The last hunter turned at her question just before he jumped into the driver's seat.

"The mutt? Not sure." After his short uninformative reply he shut the door and drove off in the direction of the hospital.

Sakura waited a few more minutes but Sasuke still hadn't returned. "Maybe he went home," she wondered aloud. It was starting to get dark and she could see the first few stars start to twinkle in the night sky.

With a worried sigh, Sakura got back into her car and headed home. She hoped that Sasuke had just decided to go straight home and wasn't hurt somewhere.

As soon as she got home, Sakura went straight to Sasuke's house. She gave the door a few short knocks before pushing the door open. To her disappointment it was empty.

Soft footsteps alerted her to someone approaching. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw Sasuke approaching. Her relief quickly disappeared when she saw that he was limping.

"Sasuke are you okay?" Sasuke looked away sharply ignoring her question. He was still in a really bad mood and just wanted to be left alone. He could hear her talking to him but his mind didn't register her words.

'_You don't belong with the man things.'_

'_You are one of us.'_

'_All…..gone-'_

The demon's words continued to replay over and over in his mind. He hadn't felt this angry or upset for a long time. It was all their fault! Those humans destroyed lives and thought nothing of it.

Sakura stood there and watched Sasuke confusedly. He was never very talkative but he never flat out ignored her before. In the dim light that came from her house lights she could see that there were patches of fur that looked wet. Blood? Wanting to get a closer look to make sure he was okay she closed leant down to see his leg and stretched out a hand.

To her utter surprise Sasuke growled and snapped at her. Sakura jumped and quickly withdrew her hand and clutched it to her chest. She stared at him wide eyed, completely in shock.

It took Sasuke a few long seconds to realize what just happed and what he did. The angry haze that clouded his head cleared as he stared at Sakura who looked at him with a frightened confused expression.

He didn't mean any harm by it. He just didn't want to be touched. He got worried scared looks from tons of other people but never from Sakura. Getting that look from her made him sick. He never wanted to get that look from her again. She'd always treated him with love and warmth ever since they met and it killed him to think that she would ever think of him as an animal. A monster. The burning rage from earlier had completely evaporated and was replaced by self-loathing.

Sasuke's ears lay flat against the top of his head and his tail tucked between his legs. Sakura remained immobile and just watched him nervously. Sasuke figured that she wasn't going to approach him again and began to walk slowly towards her.

He forgot about his leg and almost stumbled on his first step. Righting himself he moved to stand next to her and leaned lightly against her. He let a soft whimper escape his lips and nudged her hand.

Breaking out of her stupor, Sakura gently stoked his head. Sasuke perked up slightly his tail beginning to wag slowly as he pressed his body against her more.

She was still slightly in shock. Sasuke never snapped at her with the attempt to harm her before. He had snapped at her in the past but those were always more playful or even slightly irritated, nothing like this. Just a moment ago she wasn't looking at her best friend, she was face to face with a wild animal. It scared her. This must be what others see when they look at Sasuke. But now, he seemed to have gone back to normal. If his nuzzling and soft whimpers was anything to go by he was sorry. He was back to being the Sasuke she knew.

When they both calmed down a little, Sakura leaned down to inspect his leg. She could see that there was some blood on his fur but she couldn't see the actual wounds under his thick coat. "I'm going to get the first-aid kit and I'll meet you in your room okay?" Sasuke nodded and limped away.

While Sakura walked to the main house she kept thinking about what just happened. Why would he do that? Something must really be bothering him. Could it have been something she did? She thought long and hard but nothing came to mind.

Sakura was still deep in thought and by the time she came to she was standing in front of Sasuke's door. She knocked lightly and hesitated on opening the door. It air between them seemed awkward. It was never like this between them.

"Come in."

Sakura took a deep steadying breath and entered the wolf's den. She stood frozen in the doorway amazed at what she saw. Sasuke was sitting on his bed shirtless with his tail thumping lightly on the mattress. There was only a handful of times that she had actually seen him in between transformations like this. When it did happen he was normally in a good mood, so why now? In his human form she could see the cuts much more clearly. He was holding a bloody towel to his injured shoulder and she could finally see the damage when he lowered the towel. There was a small laceration on the side of his arm and another on his shoulder that looked suspiciously like a bullet wound.

"They shot you?!" Sakura practically shouted.

Sasuke turned to look at her and started to pick at the hole in his shoulder. "…Yeah."

Sakura hurried over and inspected the wound. The skin around it was inflamed and was practically glowing red. "Did the bullet come out?" When Sasuke shook his head Sakura withdrew nervously. She would need to remove the offending object or it would continue to cause him a lot of pain and never heal.

She picked up the tweezers in the first aid-kit and rested her other hand on his injured shoulder. "This is going to hurt but this needs to come out." Sasuke nodded and looked away not wanting to watch Sakura dig the bullet out of his shoulder.

Sasuke tensed and let out a loud curse when he felt Sakura begin to prod his open wound. He shut his eyes tight and tried to ignore the excruciating pain. After what felt like hours he felt Sakura release her hold on his shoulder. She dropped the bullet onto the already bloody towel and began to clean the wound. The wound throbbed painfully but with the toxic metal removed his shoulder should start healing nicely.

"What happened? How'd you get shot?" Sakura asked while she started disinfecting and bandaging up his injury.

"I was standing near the demon when they shot her. Guess they had pretty bad aim." He tried to joke about it but both of them knew the truth. The hunters probably didn't care if they hit Sasuke or they might have even done it on purpose.

Sakura could slightly understand why Sasuke was so against her touching him earlier. He must have been downright pissed and not thinking clearly. Sakura sat on the bed next to him and leaned her head on his uninjured shoulder. Sasuke glanced at her but didn't move. He still felt bad for snapping at her and he could feel her emotionally distance herself even if they were physically touching. She was very quiet and wouldn't look him in the eye. For the first time ever Sasuke felt awkward around Sakura. Like he didn't belong.

"I'm sorry."

Sasuke looked at her curiously. "Why are you sorry?"

Sakura was silent for a second while she tried to find the right words to say. "For how they treat you. Even after all this time they still treat you like a monster."

'_You don't belong…'_

"Because I am one."

Sakura shot up and started at him in disbelief. Sasuke turned away from her feeling extremely uncomfortable. The reality of what he was came crashing down around him. For so long it didn't matter what he was, but now he felt like it was becoming a barrier between him and Sakura. He wanted to be human, to be normal, but that was impossible. That's why he hadn't bothered to hide his tail. He needed to remind himself what they were different. That it would never work between them.

"That's not true!" Sakura practically shouted. How could he think such things about himself? He may look different on the outside but he had a good heart. Sakura could see it as plain as day but no one else, including Sasuke himself, could see that. "I don't think you're a monster," she whispered and gently ran her hand along the top of his tail.

Sasuke sighed and moved his tail to the other side of his body out of her reach. He felt all these negative feelings welling up inside of him. The anger, sadness, fear, and disgust from earlier made him want to explode. "Then you're an idiot." He glared at her with blood red eyes. "I could see how afraid you were earlier. Don't deny it."

"I was scared at first. You startled me, but I know that you would never hurt me." She raised a hand to gently cup his face. "We may be different but you will never be a monster to me. You're just Sasuke." Sakura loved him. She didn't know when her feelings changed from loving him as a friend to something much more than that. But she couldn't tell him. Even if he didn't voice it, she knew that Sasuke didn't exactly like humans. How can she expect him to love the very beings that killed his family?

Sasuke was stunned by her affection. His eyes faded back to their natural color. He opened his mouth but he didn't know what to say. Sakura closed the gap between them and hugged him tightly. "I don't care what you are," she whispered.

Sasuke felt a warmth bloom in his chest and spread to every particle of his body. He slowly raised his arms and returned her embrace. His hug slightly surprised Sakura since they never actually hugged since they were small children.

Sasuke smiled slightly and gently nuzzled the top of her head. It was times like that that he forgot that they were different species. He forgot that he shouldn't feel what he does for her. At times like this he really hoped that they could be together.

"Thank you."

She looked up at him and saw a warmth in his eyes that she rarely ever saw. In fact she didn't know of any other times he looked that way besides when he was with her. She remembered what Ino had said about Sasuke only caring about her and began to believe that her friend had a point.

Maybe he didn't care that she was human, just like she didn't care what he was. She smiled at and buried her face into the side of his neck. When he looked at her like that it gave her hope that he felt the same way she did. Maybe they really could be together.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I was upset and I shouldn't have taken it out on you," he apologized.

Sakura reluctantly let go. "What happened?" she asked. Sakura was curious to what could have put Sasuke in such a terrible mood.

Sasuke retold the events that unfolded from when he first encountered the demon attacking the hunters. He could see the sadness that crept into her eyes as he explained things from the demon's point of view.

"That's awful," Sakura frowned.

"Her situation- it's just so similar to mine. I felt bad for her. If they had just left them alone she wouldn't have possessed that woman or attacked those hunters. Then when reinforcements arrived they just killed her and disrespected her body. Like killing her was a joke." Sasuke growled remembering how cruelly the men had treated the body. "I guess it just really bothered me because in a different time and place that could have been me. All this just reminded me that I don't truly belong."

"That's not true," Sakura argued. "You do belong here. Those men were disgusting excuses for human beings. They're actions tonight- it was embarrassing." Sakura let out an aggravated sigh and rested her face in the palm of her hand. She never told anyone that her deepest fear was that Sasuke would one day leave. It seemed irrational since they seemed to be always together but the thought always lingered in the back of her mind. When the others treated him like this she was afraid that he would get fed up and leave. What if one day he got sick of them and wanted to be with his own kind? He wasn't a child anymore he could very easily survive on his own.

Her mind was moving quickly processing what Sasuke just told her. The hunter's association was becoming corrupt with the hunter's on a power trip believing that they were better than other organisms. They no longer fought to protect, they just seemed to enjoy killing. Who were the monsters now?

"I want to change how this organization works. Let's show them that humans and other species can live together peacefully. That there's no need for us to fight." She looked at Sasuke, her eyes glimmering with excitement at the thought of a brighter future they could build together. Her happiness was contagious.

After talking with Sakura, Sasuke felt much better. All the negative feelings just seemed to melt away the more he was with her. Sasuke smirked at her and nodded. Together they could do anything.

**A/N: Hmm at first I was going to split this story up into two parts, this first installment then a sequel. But now I'm debating on keeping it all together with one more time skip that separates the two parts. But if kept together I think this story's going to be pretty long. I had a review on my first story that the length of it was intimidating and they almost didn't read it (it was 44 chapters) but then they said that they were really glad they took a chance and read it :D. I wouldn't want people who come in later to be discouraged by the story length.**

**I'd like to hear your thoughts on story length and sequels. I'll let you know when it gets closer to the middle point where I want the break to be if I still haven't decided what to do.**

**Thanks so much for reading! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who gave me their opinion on how to link my story together. I appreciate all your support. I decided to leave it as one longer story. I also want to give a very special thank you to **_**WhiskyGirl **_**who wrote me half a novel for a review/pm. **

**Chapter 10**

The rest of the weekend went by without any further excitement. The tense air that lingered between Sasuke and Sakura after he had been shot had been completely dissipated. The two of them seemed closer than before if that was even possible.

Sasuke was no longer bothered when Sakura touched him even when she suddenly become extremely clingy. Sakura felt like there was suddenly nothing standing between her and Sasuke. It made her feel extremely giddy and she just couldn't contain her happiness.

Her mom seemed to sense her mood and instantly understand why. She would smile warmly at the two of them when they sat on the couch together. Sakura would slide up to him and rest her head on his shoulder innocently.

Kizashi would narrow his eyes at the display but he holds his tongue and doesn't say anything. His daughter seems so happy and he would hate to upset her. He would grumble under his breath and avert his eyes.

While they were lounging around Sakura decided to check his shoulder to see how it was healing. The hole in his shoulder was deep but the inflammation had gone down a considerable amount. The silver in the bullet caused it to heal slower than normal but it was still closing more quickly than a human wound would.

"What happened?" Mebuki asked when she saw the hole in his shoulder.

"Idiots shot at Sasuke after he saved some people," Sakura scoffed. She was still upset how some people could be so cruel and heartless. Mebuki was shocked that anyone in the organization would do such a thing.

Even Kizashi was surprised. "Report it. Don't let some cocky asshole think he can get the better of you," he said.

Sakura and Mebuki looked at him with mouths hanging open in shock. Sasuke's eyes widened, he was probably the most surprised that Kizashi would back him up.

"No it's not worth it. They're just going to claim it was a mistake," Sasuke said. "Thanks though," he added as an afterthought. Kizashi nodded in response. He and Sasuke weren't best buds, but what those other hunters did was dishonorable.

By the next school day Sasuke's shoulder was still tender but it was tolerable. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura mentioned the incident that happened over the weekend. There was no need to upset the others over something that already happened.

When they arrived at school everything seemed normal, but as the day went on the students, especially the girls, seemed to be more lively than usual.

During lunch Sakura asked Ino what all the buzz was about. "You mean you don't know?" Ino asked eyes widening slightly. "There's a dance coming up remember? Everyone's trying to snag the cutest date." Ino giggled at the last part.

The annual school dance had been announced sometime in the beginning of the year and Sakura had completely forgot about it. With all the excitement going on the dance was the last thing on her mind.

"I guess that's why Sasuke's missing," Sakura laughed. Both Naruto and Sasuke hadn't shown up for lunch and it was almost time for their next class to start. Sasuke was probably hiding from girls and dragged Naruto with him. Or Naruto was following behind him laughing at his friend's predicament.

"Are you going to ask Sasuke to go with you?" Ino asked.

"When is it?"

"The Saturday two weeks from now." Sakura groaned making Ino raise an eyebrow at her. "What's wrong?"

"The full moon is that night, Sasuke can't go," Sakura pouted. "And even if it wasn't can you imagine Sasuke going to a school dance?" Parties, dancing, and socializing weren't Sasuke's favorite things to do.

Ino narrowed her eyes at her friend and grinned widely. "Speaking of Sasuke, you two seemed awfully touchy feely this morning. Anything you want to tell me?" That morning Sakura chose to lean against Sasuke as he sat under the tree next to the table rather than next to Ino like she normally would. Lee had offered her his seat since all the seats were taken but she declined him. She would rather much sit next to Sasuke.

"Nothing happened Ino." Sakura deadpanned. Sometimes Sakura hated how perceptive Ino was to these kinds of things. The bell had run signaling that their lunch period was over. But to Sakura's dismay, Ino had the same class as her and couldn't escape her prodding.

"Don't lie to me Forehead, you were all snuggly with him this morning. Something definitely happened this weekend. Did you make out? When are the two of you finally going to admit you're going out?" Ino shot off question after question rapidly trying to get something out of Sakura.

Sakura blushed and started to walk faster trying to escape. But Ino was relentless and picked up the pace to keep up with her. She had thought about kissing Sasuke multiple times that weekend. The air just felt right for it, but she was scared. Everything that happened that weekend helped her understand Sasuke on a whole new level. But there was still that nagging in the back of her mind that would always stop her.

Sakura was saved when the janitor closest in front of them burst open. Sasuke and Naruto tumbled out of it tangled in miscellaneous cleaning supplies.

Sakura and Ino stared at the two boys who lay in a heap, partially stunned. "I'm not really surprised, but you two take coming out of the closet way too literally," Ino sniggered. Sakura laughed loudly while Naruto and Sasuke looked up at them with disgusted expressions.

Naruto pushed Sasuke away from him over exaggeratedly. Sasuke glared back at him and fumbled to his feet. "This is all your fault," he growled at Naruto.

"I saved us from getting mobbed! You should be thanking me!" Naruto shouted.

The two of them began another one of their usual arguments which drew some attention from other passing students. It would have escalated to a brawl if Sakura didn't intervene and drag Naruto away. Ino, Sakura, and Naruto all had the same next class.

"So what happened?" Sakura asked Naruto who was still pouting comically.

"Girls are crazy!" Naruto waved his arms in the air while shouting. "They just kept showing up. At first it was just a few then all of a sudden there was tons of them!"

"Wow I didn't realize Sasuke was that popular," Ino said.

"Yeah right, it wasn't just that bastard that was getting all the attention. There was a few of them that came looking for me." Naruto flexed and lifted his chin proudly in the hallway.

"So do you guys have dates already?" Sakura asked. She knew that Sasuke would never go with some random girl but she felt complied to ask anyway.

"Nah. I have higher standards than those that, and Sasuke probably still thinks that girls have coodies," Naruto laughed. Sakura couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh to know that Sasuke hadn't agreed to go with any of those other girls.

As the days went by, both the girls and boys seemed to be getting braver as the pool of available dates started to diminish. On more than one occasion boys had asked Sakura to accompany them to the dance. Each time she politely turned them down but they were becoming pushier.

Sasuke had the same problem with girls but he had no problem turning them away and resorting to swearing when they kept on coming back.

One afternoon when school had just gotten out, Sasuke and Sakura were walking to her car and were stopped by one of the boys in Sakura's math class. Sakura could recall having a few short friendly conversations with him but she considered him more of an acquaintance than a friend. She didn't even remember his name.

"Hello Sakura," the boy greeted. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he saw the boy begin to fidget nervously. There was only one reason hey kid in front of them was so nervous. While Sasuke was scowling Sakura greeted him warmly. "I was wondering if you want to go to the dance with me?" his voice wavered slightly showing that he was scared. And with good reason. As if asking a girl to the dance wasn't nerve racking enough, it was much harder with an angry Sasuke glaring at him the whole time.

Sasuke was pissed. This whole dance thing was becoming a huge pain in the ass. Not only were some girls extremely clueless and wouldn't leave him alone but he had to deal with guys constantly asking Sakura out. At first they would wait until Sasuke wasn't around but now they were going for it even if he was standing right beside her. It infuriated Sasuke that these worthless boys kept trying to pry Sakura away from him.

"I'm sorry but I'll have to pass," Sakura turned him down nicely. Sasuke smirked, satisfied with her answer. Every time Sakura turned away another guy it made Sasuke feel loads better.

"Are you going with someone else?" the boy asked. Sasuke's smirk disappeared and his frown came back in a flash.

"No, but-"

"Then why not go with me?" Sakura's admirer interrupted.

"She already said no so get lost," Sasuke growled and stepped in front of Sakrua. With the last of his courage spent the boy turned tail and took off. He quickly apologized and scurried away.

"You didn't need to do that," Sakura said. But on the inside she was glad that Sasuke was there. Sasuke shrugged and continued to walk towards the car. "I was going to meet the girls at HQ. Tenten has to finish some paperwork on her last assignment then we're going to head to the mall to pick out dresses. I can drop you off at home if you want." She was sure that Sasuke didn't want to get dragged from place to place while they tried on tons of different dresses and shoes.

"I'll go with you to HQ. Naruto wanted to talk to me about something and I can tell him to meet me there," Sasuke said. Naruto could keep him company while the girls shopped too.

The ride to HQ was relatively quiet with the only noise coming from the softly playing radio. Amazingly it was Sasuke that spoke first. "You've turned down a bunch of guys that wanted to go to the dance with you. Why is that?" A huge part of him was glad that she refused all these other guys. It was unfair that the date of the dance settled on a full moon. He hated things like dances but it would make him feel a whole lot better if he went with Sakura rather than anyone else.

"I just don't feel like going with anyone," Sakura said. It was only a partial lie but she didn't know how to say she didn't want to go with anyone but him. Just the thought of it caused her stomach to churn unpleasantly. She felt like she was betraying him even if they weren't technically together. Sasuke had a feeling that she was lying but didn't question her any further.

* * *

When they reached the hunter's main building Sakura went to find the girls and Sasuke headed to the training area to look for Naruto. Apparently the fox boy was already there trying to work of some stress.

The training area was vast. It was split apart in multiple rooms to give them a variety of things to do. One area was closed off to make an indoor shooting range which Sasuke tried to avoid going in whenever possible. The other rooms housed different kinds of weights and exercise equipment. They practically had their own gym.

Sasuke checked in all the rooms, popping his head in and scanning for Naruto before quickly leaving. He was starting to get irritated when his blonde friend couldn't be located. Just as he was about to give up he found Naruto pacing in front of a soda machine. He would pause to take a sip from the can in his hand then continue pacing. He was bound to wear a line in the floor soon.

Hearing Sasuke's approaching footsteps Naruto's head shot up. "Sasuke! There you are. I need help!"

Sasuke was slightly surprised. Normally when Naruto asked him for help it was normally for something stupid, but this time he seemed genuinely nervous and scared. "What is it?"

Naruto began pacing again trying to figure out how to word his problem. "So the dance is coming up soon."

Oh hell no. Sasuke was not about to help Naruto with girl problems. He had enough problems of his own without adding in Naruto's. Sasuke groaned and sat on the bench next to the soda machine.

"I really want to ask her to go with me but I'm afraid she'll say no. And then there's Neji to worry about," Naruto complained.

Wait, Neji? Was he thinking of Hinata?

"You want to ask out Hinata?" Sasuke asked. Well then this was going to be much easier than he thought. Naruto's nod prompted Sasuke to continue, "Then you have no problem. Just ask her she'll say yes. And who gives a fuck about Neji."

"How can you be so confident?!" Naruto shouted. "I've been trying to get with her since the beginning of the year but she doesn't seem to want to talk with me. She gets really quiet when I'm around and she looks away all the time. I've tried to be super nice to her and nothing seems to happen. I don't know what to do!"

Sasuke groaned and massaged his temples. "You worry too much. She'll say yes because she likes you."

"How do you know?!" Okay, Naruto really needed to stop shouting.

"It's extremely obvious. Hinata's really shy that's why she clams up when your around. She's been dropping subtle hints around you for years you're just too stupid to notice," Sasuke explained.

Naruto stopped his pacing and started unblinkingly at him before slumped silently onto the bench next to Sasuke. He continued to blankly stare at a speck on the floor in front of them. He began to recall all the most recent times he spent with Hinata to see if it seemed like what Sasuke was telling him was the truth.

After a few minutes of silence, which was amazing on Naruto's part, Sasuke began to get impatient. "Is it that hard to wrap your puny brain around? Think about it. It's painful to watch you two dance around each other. Just ask her already."

To Sasuke's surprise Naruto kept on staring. He was sure that would have gotten a rise out of him. After a final sip Naruto threw the empty can into the trashcan across of them. A huge grin broke across Naruto's face before he started to laugh loudly.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his friend's curious display. Maybe Naruto had finally lost it. Naruto suddenly turned to Sasuke and said, "It's not as painful as watching you and Sakura."

* * *

Sakura managed to find the other girls relatively quickly. They still had to wait a few minutes for Tenten to finish their report. They hung around in the hallway outside one of the offices. There was a bit of foot traffic in this area of the building since hunters were going to pick up new assignments and report on their completed ones. The girls waved at the people they recognized as they passed by and gave a friendly smile for others who acknowledged them.

"I'm so excited about the dance!" Ino gushed, "How about you guys?" Hinata gave her a small nod and Sakura just shrugged. "Wow you guys are boring. At least show a bit more enthusiasm."

"Well, Hinata and I don't have dates like some people," Sakura said. Tenten and Neji mutually agreed to go with one another and Ino had pestered Shikamaru to go with her until he finally relented.

Ino frowned and placed her hands on her hips and glared lightly at Sakura. "That's because you two don't try hard enough. You know how difficult it was to get Shikamaru to go with me."

"It wasn't that hard actually. You just kept bothering him while he was trying to nap and he agreed just so you would leave him alone," Sakura laughed. Ino glared and Hinata hid her giggles behind her hand. Sakura couldn't tease her friend too much though. Ino wouldn't admit it but she did have this small crush on their extremely lazy friend.

Their laughter was interrupted by a high pitched squeaking noise. As the yipping noises got louder, startled shouts began adding to the growing noise.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked. The girls peered down the hall where the ruckus was coming from. An orange streak burst around the corner quickly followed by a much larger darker blur.

A fully grown red fox raced down the hall crying out in high pitched yips as he went. It was extremely rare for Naruto to assume the form of a fox. He used to show off his ears and tail a lot when he was younger but as he grew up it happened less and less. The more familiar form of Sasuke chased the fox snapping at his tail trying to catch the illusive bastard.

Naruto dodged between the stunned occupants of the hallway crying all the way. Due to his size, Sasuke had to slow down immensely to avoid trampling innocent people. The bystanders stumbled to avoid the path of the rampaging animals but Naruto would purposely try to weave between as many people as possible in order to slow down Sasuke.

Seeing the girls down the hall, Naurto made a beeline towards them. When he got within range he leapt up at Hinata. The force of his pounce nearly knocked her over. Hinata struggled to wrap her arms around him since he was nearly the big of a medium sized dog. Sasuke skid to a stop and glared at the fox who was making himself at home in Hinata's arms.

"What the fuck are you two doing?!" Ino screeched. It was very unlike the two of them to transform for stupid reasons. Naruto must have really pissed off Sasuke and had to transform in order to escape certain death.

Naruto looked up at Hinata with his ears pressed flat against his head while he blinked his big watery eyes. That bastard was using the sad eyes on them. He even whimpered and appeared to stick out his bottom lip. All three girls seemed to melt and cooed at the adorable fox.

Sasuke growled loudly and snapped his jaws angrily at the display.

Sakura turned to Sasuke and frowned at him, "C'mon now, be nice. I'm sure whatever he did he didn't mean it." She reached toward him and gently rubbed the top of his head. Sasuke continued to glare at Naruto. He was playing dirty getting the girls involved.

"Why don't you two change back and we can head to the mall when Tenten finishes." Sasuke huffed and stalked off to transform in a more private area. When Sasuke came back the girls were still waiting. Sakura and Ino were standing and Hinata was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall with Naruto who was still a fox. He had his front paws in her lap and was reaching up to nuzzle her neck and shoulders while Hinata stoked him.

When Sasuke got close enough to them he gave Naruto a swift kick in the ribs causing the fox to squeak in surprise and pain as he flew a few feet away from them. Hinata gasped and shot up while Sakura and Ino just rolled their eyes. They expected some kind of retaliation from Sasuke and knew it was going to be violent.

When Naruto hit the floor there was a poof of smoke and he returned to human form. "That hurt you bastard!" Naruto shouted while rubbing his aching side.

"You deserved it."

"You need to learn how to take a joke." The two boys glared at each other, causing sparks to fly.

"Are you okay?" Hinata asked timidly.

Naruto immediately broke eye contact with Sasuke and bounced over to Hinata. "Of course! Sasuke couldn't hurt me if he tried." When Naruto continued to babble on about other things Sasuke moved towards Sakura and leaned grumpily against the wall next to her.

Sakura gently placed her hand on his arm and gave him a concerned look. She didn't need words to convey what she was asking him. Sasuke sighed and gave her a small nod signaling that he was alright. Sasuke watched from the corner of his eye as Sakura went back to her conversation with Ino. In his mind he was going over the talk he had with Naruto. Was his feelings for Sakura that obvious? Did she really feel the same way? He didn't want to get his hopes up but if someone as dull as Naruto could see something between them then maybe he still had a chance.

* * *

They only needed to wait a few more minutes for Tenten before heading off to the mall. While the girls hit up the clothing stores looking for the perfect dress, Naruto and Sasuke went to grab some food. They sat at a little table while Sasuke sipped on a soda and watched Naruto inhale unhealthy amounts of ramen. Naruto was much more upbeat and peppy than normal, if that was possible, while Sasuke was just as gloomy as usual.

Naruto was brainstorming how best to ask out Hinata. Her reaction to him earlier was proof enough for him that Sasuke was telling the truth. She didn't care about him being tainted from the fox demon either.

"Thanks Sasuke."

"What for?" Sasuke asked. He really didn't know why Naruto would be thanking him.

"About Hinata. Knowing that she likes me makes me feel so much better. I haven't felt this happy in a long time." He rested his face in the palm of his hand and grinned goofily. "You should really ask Sakura though. She's been denying people because she wants to go with you." Sakura said that she didn't really want to go with anyone but Naruto saw threw her lie easily. What kind of girl wanted to go to events like these by themselves.

Sasuke stiffened as the topic of Sakura was brought up again.

"I can't go, you know that," Sasuke grumbled.

"Then just ask her out. You don't have to go to the dance with her. Sakura understands why; she won't hold it against you," Naruto tried to reason with his best friend.

Sasuke thought over what Naruto was telling him. Sakura was the only person he could ever see himself with. She knew full well what he was and she wasn't afraid. She wouldn't be upset that he just couldn't do certain things with her.

"We'll see."

Naruto was practically ecstatic now. He had noticed how the two of them drifted closer together over the years and he really wanted them to get together. 'We'll see' was the closest thing to a yes that he was going to get from Sasuke.

"We can go on double dates!" Naruto cheered and threw his arms into the air in excitement.

"Hell no."

* * *

The girl were currently waiting for Hinata and Ino to finally pick a dress. Sakura and Tenten had already found theirs and were helping the other two girls. But that was turning out to be a bit harder than they expected. Hinata was relatively easy to work with she would try something on and ask their opinions before trying on the next one. She just hadn't found one that called to her yet. Ino was a bit more difficult to work with.

"My god, hurry up! How many do you really need to try on?" Tenten complained. They had each given Ino their opinions on what they thought were 'nice' dresses. But she had a problem with each and every one they picked.

"This one just doesn't sit right," Ino called from within the dressing room. Tenten rolled her eyes and dramatically flopped over the chair she was sitting on and groaned loudly.

"Here try this one," Sakura laughed as she threw over a dark purple dress over the door. Ino let out a surprised scream when the dress fell over her head while she was undressing causing her to get tangled in it.

"Damn it Sakura-oh this is nice!" Sakura and Hinata laughed while Tenten cheered maybe they could finally get out of here. "How does it look?" Ino bounced out of the dressing room and struck a pose.

"That looks the best from everything else you tried on. It suits you," Sakura said.

"It looks great can we leave now?" Tenten whined.

Ino puffed out her cheeks and pouted at her. "You can't just pick out the perfect outfit so easily." Tenten waved her own choice in the air in response. It had taken her only about 10 minutes to find hers pale pink dress. "The dress has to be perfect. Don't you want to look your best for Neji?" Ino smirked.

But her teasing didn't have the effect she wanted it to. "There's nothing wrong with my dress." Tenten shrugged and completely ignored her question.

Hinata slowly opened her dressing room door and peaked her head out. "I don't know about this one," she said quietly.

"Come out and let us see," Sakura encouraged.

Hinata slowly stepped out and clutched her hands together in front of her chest. It was a beautiful pastel blue dress that had some sheen to it. But what made Hinata nervous was the plunging neckline that showed much more cleavage than she was comfortable with.

"Aww Hinata, you look gorgeous," Sakura swooned. The other two girls voiced their positive feelings as well, making Hinata try to tug the dress higher.

"Thanks, but-" Hinata trailed off. He eyes widened and her whole face turned red. The confused girls turned around to see what caused Hinata to freeze up.

Naruto and Sasuke stood behind them between two racks of clothes. Sasuke seemed impassive while Naruto was staring and gaping like a fish. Sasuke slapped the fox boy in the back of the head to break him out of his stupor. Naruto lurched forward and growled at Sasuke before looking back at Hinata.

"Wow Hinata you look beautiful!" he smiled.

"Th-thank you," Hinata stuttered. It looked like she was about to pass out. She tried to hurry back into the dressing room to change but Naruto grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"I think you should get this one. It looks really good on you." Hinata nodded her head harshly not trusting her voice at the moment. "Um one more thing." Now it was Naruto's turn to struggle with voicing his thoughts.

"Hurry up," Sasuke complained.

"Shut up! This is hard!" Naruto shouted back, and whipped his head around to glare at Sasuke. His grip on Hinata's wrist never loosened. He was afraid that if he let go she would run back into the dressing room and not come out.

"Uh, Hinata. Would you like to go to the dance with me?" Naruto chewed on his bottom lip in nervousness while he waited for her answer.

Time seemed to stop for Hinata. Did she just hear what she thought she heard. This kind of thing only happened in her dreams. She could see the edges of her vison blurring, but she refused to pass out now.

"Well if you're not already going with anyone else. And we don't have to if you really don't want to," Naruto began to babble. He felt like he had to talk, he couldn't handle the silence.

"Yes."

"It's not a-huh? Did you say yes?" Naruto paused in the middle of his rambling.

Hinata gave him the sweetest smile he ever saw and nodded. Naruto cheered and picked up Hinata in a great big bear hug and began to spin her in circles. Hinata laughed lightly at his enthusiasm.

The girls all smiled at the scene in front of them. Hinata had been pining after Naruto for years and it was good to see her feelings finally returned.

Ino went over to Sakura and whispered in her ear. "Maybe if you flash your boobs at Sasuke he'll ask you out too." Sakura immediately retaliated by stomping on her best friends foot. "Shit Forehead! That hurt!"

All the commotion and yelling drew the attention of one of the workers at the shop. "May I help you?" she tried to ask politely, but everyone could tell she was very irritated.

"We'll take these," Sakura smiled sweetly at the woman and picked up her dress and headed over to the cashier.

**A/N: This chapter just didn't want to be written. I'm sorry for those that wanted a more detailed description of their dresses but I just can't do it. I personally don't like to read paragraphs describing what a character is wearing. I hate clothes shopping, dresses, and all things girly. In this case I would be Tenten just wanting to hurry up and leave. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Ever since Naruto had successfully snagged Hinata as his partner for the dance he had become a huge irritant for Sasuke. As if he wasn't already irritating before all of this. He was acting like a lovesick fool. Sasuke couldn't help but feel jealous toward his friend. Everyone had whooped and cheered when Naruto had exuberantly announced to everyone that he and Hinata were now an item. They all seemed to be enthusiastic and amused by Naruto's antics.

Sasuke was currently watching the two of them flirt during lunch and it was making him sick. In actuality it was more like Naruto was flirting and Hinata was blushing madly while trying to hold a conversation without stuttering.

He wasn't the only one not enjoying the happy events. Neji was brooding at the other end of the table. He kept shooting dirty looks over at Naruto, which was promptly ignored. But Neji couldn't do much since it looked like Hinata was enjoying herself and he didn't want to upset her.

Both Neji and Sasuke glowered when Naruto laughed and wrapped his arm around Hinata. "Does he have to lay it on so thick?" Sasuke glowered.

"Let them go. I've never seen Naurto so happy," Sakura chided.

Sasuke scoffed, "That idiot is always happy." Sakura just laughed while Sasuke continued to sulk. He was glad that Naruto had finally gotten what he wanted but watching them made him almost physically ill.

"That's it!"

It seemed that Neji had finally snapped. He stomped over to Hinata and Naruto and tried to pry them apart. When Naruto saw him coming he wrapped both his arms around Hinata and refused to let go. Tenten tried to pull Neji away without much success. While the mini tug of war raged on, Hinata sat stiffly with her face pressed into Naruto's chest. She was stiff as a board and her ears were red, and it was guaranteed that the rest of her face was as well.

Sasuke snickered, he was amazed that Hinata's head hadn't exploded yet.

* * *

Sasuke spent the rest of the day thinking about Naruto's success and what they had talked about the other day. He sat in class in a daze not really absorbing anything the teachers were trying to get him to remember.

"Are you okay?"

He nearly jumped at Sakura's question. He hadn't even realized that school was over and they were already headed home. The whole day had just slipped by and he hadn't even realized it. He must be really out of it.

"You've been spacing out all day, that's not like you. Is everything alright?" Sakura asked again.

"Yeah, everything's fine." His insecurities were eating him up inside. He wasn't about to tell her that she was the center of his problems. That would make her feel bad and force him to try explain to her why in order to keep her from beating herself up about it. And it wasn't entirely her 'fault'.

Sakura frowned and let the subject go. It hurt her that Sasuke didn't want to confide in her, that maybe he didn't trust her. But Sasuke was always quiet and never liked to talk about personal things very often. If she was patient he may open up on his own. She hoped.

Once they reached home Sasuke went out for a run while Sakura hit the books to prep for an upcoming test. Sakura was taking harder classes in order to prep for college and medical school.

Sasuke spent the rest of the afternoon sprinting to the forest and chasing rabbits and other small animals. It was great stress relief. He would have stayed out longer if not for the sun setting. He normally went out at night but Sakura would be worried if he didn't at least stop by for dinner.

After his run, Sasuke put on shorts and a simple black t-shirt and lay in the grass and stared at the stars as they began to appear.

The run had made Sasuke feel better, made him feel free. But as soon as it ended he felt his problems pile up again. He watched the stars twinkle with his hands resting under his head. His stomach was still twisted in knots, killing his appetite. He could smell Sakura before he heard her muffled footsteps. Her normally comforting scent just made him more anxious and nervous. He stifled and uncomfortable growl as she got closer.

She silently sat next to him and handed him a simple rice ball. "I hope you haven't been eating cute little forest animals again," she laughed. When they were younger, Sakura had been mortified to find him covered in blood from an innocent baby dear he had caught. He refrained from killing if he didn't need to after that. And if he did catch something he made sure to clean himself up and hide the carcass afterwards.

Saskue sat up and thanked her for bringing her food. They sat in silence while Sasuke ate. He picked the last grains of rice from his fingers and gathered his courage for the conversation to come. He had to do it now! Sasuke couldn't stand these fucking feelings anymore.

"Are you really okay going to the dance by yourself while everyone else has a date?" Sasuke questioned.

"It's okay I don't mind," Sakura shrugged. She was smiling but Sasuke could see that there was a flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

"I can go with you if you want," Sasuke blurted out before he could stop himself. He bit his bottom lip and turned away to try to hide his embarrassment.

"But it's the full moon; you can't." Sakura was extremely confused but at the same time she was happy. If the dance had fallen on a different night Sasuke probably would have asked her a long time ago. But that wasn't the case so how could he attend?

"There might be a way. Orochimaru has been working on something for me to use that will suppress the change. He should have a prototype ready by now," Sasuke tried to explain. "This thing he's working on, it's the first stage to finding a cure. He said it won't work for me since I was born this way. But in the end it should revert people who's been bitten back to normal."

Sakura stared at him in shock. That must be why Sasuke still went to his appointments with those scientists. It always stuck her as odd how helpful he was being when he agreed to work with them. He didn't exactly jump at the chase to do charity work. But now she realized, he wasn't going just to help them, he wanted something from them.

But why?

Why would Sasuke want something like that? Something so unnatural.

"Why would you do something like that?" Sakura was astounded. In her eyes there was nothing wrong with him. He didn't need a cure or anything like that. He was perfectly fine the way he was.

"For times like this. So I can do normal things like everyone else can." Sasuke paused and took a deep shuddering breath. He had never felt so scared and nervous since the night his family had been killed. It felt like his insides were squirming around like worms. It made him sick. He wanted to run, hide, anything to make the feelings go away.

He was a coward. If Naruto could do it why couldn't he? Watching Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke knew that was what he wanted. Being just friends with Sakura wasn't enough for him anymore.

"But there's more to it than that," Sasuke paused. This was it. Either he was going to be as stupidly happy as Naruto or he was going to hide in the forest and never come out due to his shame and embarrassment. "It's not just about the dance. I want to be able to do everything with you. We've been friends for a long time and it may seem a bit weird but…" The rest of the words died out before he could even form them. After opening and closing his mouth in multiple attempts to get his thoughts out he finally managed to croak out what he's been wanting to tell Sakura for a while now, "I want to be more than that."

Sakura was stunned. She had dreamed of moments like this and she never thought that it could one day become a reality. She watched Sasuke fidget uncomfortably, something he rarely ever does. The butterflies in her stomach raged, making her almost queasy. "Are…are you asking me out? To be with me?"

When Sasuke had finished his somewhat confession he turned away sharply not being able to stand to see her expression. He could practically feel the blush creeping up his neck onto his face. It felt like something had lodged in his throat making him incapable of speech. He gave her one firm nod in response but still couldn't bring himself to look at her. The silence was killing him but he was frozen, unable to look at her.

His ears perked up when he heard her sniffle. He finally managed to peak over her shoulder to see her wiping her eyes. Sasuke felt his heart plummet into his stomach. She was crying. "I'm sorry. Just forget it," Sasuke tried to take back his words but he felt his throat begin to constrict. He felt like the world was crashing down around him. But he didn't have time to sulk before Sakura threw herself at him, knocking both of them to the ground. Sasuke grunted from the hard impact with the ground and lay on his back stunned. Sakura wrapped her arms tighter around him and buried her face into his chest.

"I'm not upset, I'm happy. I never thought you would feel that way about me," she looked up at him with eyes sparking with unshed tears. "Like how I've always felt about you."

Now it was Sasuke's turn to be shocked. Always? How long had she had feelings for him and he just didn't notice them? He felt his heart begin to pound rapidly in his chest, spreading a wave of warmth to every particle of his body. He sat up slowly, bringing her with him while making sure to keep her body close to his.

"So, you liked me for a while?" Sasuke asked.

Now it was Sakura's turn to blush. "For a few years now," she admitted.

Sasuke frowned slightly. "Shit. So I've been freaking out all for nothing."

Sakura giggled, "Is that what's been distracting you all day?" The blush from Sasuke was all the confirmation she needed.

"Uh, so what do you say?" Sasuke returned her embrace a bit awkwardly.

Sakura adjusted her arms to wrap around his neck. "Do you really need an answer to that?" Sasuke smiled at her. A real smile that no one else besides her ever got to see. He bent his head down toward hers causing both their eyes to slowly drift shut.

Their lips touched lightly. Both of them nearly quivering with nervousness. But they almost immediately melted onto each other. The featherlike touch they started with changed to a more demanding anxious pressure as they deepened their kiss. Both of them felt sparks shoot through their bodies making them feel warm and content. It was as if a fire now burned deep within their chests.

They stayed like that for a few moments before finally separating for air. Sasuke pressed his forehead to hers and they tried to catch their breath. He kept his eyes closed and basked in this new feeling. He never felt this happy, this loved, in ages. He didn't' want it to stop.

"I've been wanting to do that for such a long time," Sakura said. Sasuke had literally taken her breath away. Sakura leaned forward and initiated another kiss. She felt Sasuke tighten his hold on her. It was almost surreal, she couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Sasuke broke their kiss and leaned back to lay on the grass, bringing Sakura with him. She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled closely with him. They watched the stars and just enjoyed holding each other.

"Sakura, thank you."

Sasuke's voice pulled Sakura out of her dream like state. "For what?"

"For being there for me, I don't know what I would have done without you. And thanks for giving us a chance," Sasuke said. He truly felt lucky to have her.

"You don't need to thank me for any of those things. I was glad to do them. And this is what I've always wanted." She pushed herself up to look and him and unintentionally pressed on his bad shoulder. The wound had already closed but the area was still tender and bruised.

Sasuke hissed and flinched making Sakura shoot up. She apologized profusely once she realized what she did. Sasuke smirked and pulled her back down holding her against his side. "It's fine. I'm probably going to get used to being shot at anyway." When Sakura looked at him with a concerned and confused expression he explained his thought. "Once your dad finds out he's going to shoot me."

Sakura began to laugh. She was ecstatic about her developing relationship with Sasuke, but her dad probably wouldn't be. "Don't worry about him." She cupped his face and kissed his cheek tenderly.

"You're not the one who's going to be dodging bullets," Sasuke said.

"I'll make sure he doesn't bother you," Sakura promised. They watched the stars twinkle in the night sky for the rest of the night while sharing multiple kisses.

* * *

The next morning Sasuke managed to wake up before Sakura came to get him. It rarely happened since Sasuke preferred to sleep in whenever given the chance. Sasuke groaned and ran his hand through his unruly hair when he slowly began to regain consciousness. He was normally grumpy and irritable first thing in the morning, but today was different.

He still couldn't believe that everything panned out the way it did. He and Sakura had been harboring similar feelings for one another and just been too nervous to act upon them. Now that they were officially together he couldn't be happier.

Last night was the start of a new chapter in his life and he couldn't be more excited. He and Sakura were together now. The thought kept repeating over and over in his head. Their kissing last night was wonderful and it left him wanting more. He wanted to hold her, kiss her more, and show her the feelings he had been suppressing. He wanted more.

If Sasuke had his way he and Sakura would have stayed out there all night. But unfortunately they both had school the next day and needed to get some sleep. The good night kiss they shared before they parted was probably his favorite part. A smirk made its way across his face as he recalled the events yesterday.

_They snuggled in the grass together. Sakura had her head on his shoulder with Sasuke's arm wrapped around her. She hummed happily and snuggled closer to him. Even if she didn't want to move she had to. It was already late and she needed to get some rest for her test tomorrow._

"_I think it's time I went to bed," Sakura said, prompting Sasuke to groan and press his face into her neck. Sakura giggled at his reaction. It was so cute when he pouted. She pulled away almost reluctantly and stood up. "Come on." She held out a hand to Sasuke who didn't move from his position in the grass._

_After pulling him up, she went to dust off her clothes which had a few pieces grass sticking to them. But it was turning out to be harder than she thought with Sasuke still holding on to her hand. When she was done she pulled him towards his house. She turned to look at him and gave him a small smile._

"_Do you have to go already?" Sasuke asked. On the inside Sakura squealing at how clingy and adorable he was being._

_She pulled Sasuke to the side of his house, out if line of site of the back door of her house. "Yes I do. But how about a good night kiss?"_

_Sasuke smirked at her before quickly closing his eyes and removing the distance between them. Unlike their first few kisses this one was much more passionate and raw. Sakura disentangled their joined hands to wrap her arms around his neck and in turn Sasuke moved his to her waist._

_Sakura felt her back get pushed up against the wall when Sasuke pressed his body against hers. She could feel him tentatively run his tongue along her lips. She gave a small moan when she opened her mouth to him and gently touched her appendage to his._

_Neither of them were expecting the jolt of pleasure to shoot through them. Tongues slid and moved against each other leading to pleasured hums and wandering hands. Sasuke's hands moved up and down her back and even a litter lower than he had originally intended. _

_Sakura tangled her fingers in Sasuke's dark hair, running her fingers through his soft locks and tugging on them slightly. Her actions caused Sasuke to growl lowly in his throat. Her tugging sent something akin to electrical sparks running up and down his spine._

_When they finally broke away from each other the two of them were left panting and breathless._

"_Holy shit," Sasuke gasped._

"_Yeah. Wow," Sakura giggled. She was having trouble thinking, much less forming whole sentences. _

_Sasuke gave her a small kiss to her forehead and gently pushed her in the direction of the house. "Go on. Before I decide to keep you."_

_Sakura blushed and tucked a few fly away strands behind her ear. "Good night."_

_Sasuke watched her until she disappeared into the house and closed the door behind her. He sighed and ran a hand through his tousled hair and began to get ready for bed himself. Sleep didn't come easy so he spent quite a while lying awake in bed. Sasuke smirked up at the ceiling recalling the events that just took place._

_Everything had gone better than he could ever imagine. Sakura wasn't appalled at the idea of them together, in fact she seemed just as enthusiastic as he was. With that thought he finally drifted off to sleep._

* * *

Sasuke yawned one last time before climbing out of bed. When he opened the door to leave he crashed into Sakura who was just about to come in. She squeaked in surprise and nearly choked on the bite of apple she had just stolen.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in amusement as he watched Sakura trying to regain her composure. "Stealing my breakfast again?"

"Um…no," Sakura mumbled through a mouthful of apple.

Sasuke chuckled at her obvious lie and leaned in so that his face was extremely close to hers, making her turn bright red. "It's ok I forgive you," she murmured into her ear. His husky tone of voice had completely distracted her, allowing Sasuke to pluck the apple out of her hand and step past her. He looked over his shoulder to see her sill standing there frozen. He smirked and walked away to get ready for school.

When he was all set to go Sakura was already waiting for him by her car. "That was dirty," she pouted at him. Sasuke chuckled at her and gave her a small peck on her cheek, making Sakura blush all over again. "And so was that."

"Get used to it," Sasuke responded before sliding into the car.

The two of them decided to keep their relationship discrete. It wasn't truly a secret but the less Kizashi knew the safer they would be. Sasuke wasn't too big a fan of showing his affection in public anyway so they were just going to act like the normally would and hopefully no one noticed anything different.

But their plan was thrown out the window when some guy asked Sakura to the dance. He had cornered her after class right before lunch. Sakura knew of him and she didn't really like him. She thought his name was Kyo but she wasn't very sure. He was one of Takao's lesser flunkies. Kyo was a year younger than they were and looked up to Takao. While he wasn't book smart, Takao was popular and good at sports. He had what most high school boys dreamed of. Kyo had started hanging around Takao and his gang just a few months ago, and he instantly picked up their 'bad ass' attitude.

Sakura was backed up against one of the lockers and looking nervously away when she had refused him. She didn't like disappointing others, it always made her feel bad.

"C'mon why not?" Kyo questioned. Instead of accepting her answer and leaving he got mad. "I bet you couldn't even get a date anyway, so you might as well come with me."

Sakura mood instantly went south. She no longer felt bad for him, now she was downright pissed. "Oh? So acting like an asshole is supposed to make me want to go with you more? It's no surprise that you don't have anyone to go with," Sakura snapped.

Kyo slammed his fist into the locker next to her head, making Sakura jump. Before she could retaliate and return his assault someone grabbed Kyo's wrist and twisted it harshly.

Kyo yelled in pain when Sasuke bent his arm at an unnatural angle. Sakura's eyes widened. She was fully prepared to defend herself but Sasuke's intervention was welcome. In the back of her mind she wasn't surprised at his sudden appearance. Sasuke always seemed to magically appear whenever she needed him.

Sasuke had been on the way to meet Sakura after class and saw her talking with some guy. At first he felt a bit defensive and could practically feel his hackles rising. He had to take a deep breath to calm himself down. They were just talking, it was nothing. But Sasuke was selfish, he didn't want to share Sakura with anyone at the moment. He tried not to show it but every particle of his being was being extremely possessive of her. Maybe it was due to the fact that they were officially together now, or maybe it was just primitive instincts that made him want to keep all potential rivals away while he was courting her. Either way he didn't want to be the typical overbearing boyfriend. Sakura wasn't the type to cheat so his worries were unnecessary.

But when he saw they boy throw a punch to threaten and scare her, he almost lost it. His slightly jealous tingle flared into raging protectiveness. Sasuke was at her side in an instant.

"I think it's time you left," Sasuke glared angrily at Kyo. He let go of the boys arm and shoved him away forcefully making him stumble. The boy instantly wheeled around and glowered at Sasuke. His face was tinged with red from both anger and embarrassment.

"Fuck off man! We were talking!" he shouted at Sasuke.

"No." Their arguing was starting to attract a crowd. Curious passersby stopped to watch and each new person that stopped added to the growing crowd making more people curious as to what was happening.

In a blind rage, Kyo threw a punch at Sasuke. Sasuke smirked at the pathetic assault and easily blocked his punch and pushed the angered boy again for good measure, this time making him land roughly on the ground. He was about to lunge at the fallen kid when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Sasuke looked behind him to see Sakura shaking her head slowly at him. "Leave him, it's not worth it."

By now Kyo was beyond pissed and was ready for an all-out brawl. He quickly jumped back to his feet and raised his fists in front of his face. But their fight was stopped when Takao shoved a few bystanders off to the side and walked up to them.

"What's a matter Kyo? Having trouble snagging a date?" Takao and his group of friends lumbered up to them with wiry grins on their faces.

Kyo frowned and glared at Sasuke, "This dick is getting in my way!" Takao and Sasuke exchanged deadly glares.

"She already turned you down," Sasuke said. His hands were balled into tight fists, hidden in his pockets. "And besides she's already going with me." His declaration caused quiet murmurs to ripple through the surrounding students.

Kyo looked like he was going to fight more but he was stopped when Takao threw his meaty arm around his friend. "Tough luck kid looks like this babe has already been snagged. No worry we can find you someone else." He pulled Kyo away and began walking down the hall with the rest of his followers close behind. Takao looked over his shoulder to sneer at Sasuke. "It's about time you grew some balls." His comment caused his gang to erupt into laughter.

Sasuke growled at the group that was slowly getting farther away from them. Now that the excitement was over the other students that surrounded them slowly started to disperse. But the murmurs and whispers continued. Sakura placed her hand on his arm to comfort him. She could feel how tense he was. Sasuke and Takao hated each other's guts, this was a common reaction to him. "Don't let him rile you. You know he does it on purpose." Sasuke scoffed and looked away. Sakura pulled him away from the crowd and towards the exit to the building.

Once they were away from prying eyes Sakura turned to Sasuke with her hands on her hips. "I could have handled it. He was just some loser," she scolded. Sasuke chuckled and leaned against the wall of the building.

"I know. He hit like a girl anyway," Sasuke smirked. Sakura laughed lightly and moved closer to him to wrap her arms around his waist.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue anyway." She gave him a quick kiss and retracted before Sasuke could respond properly. Sasuke blinked a few times to clear his head before smiling. He would save her countless times just to get a small thank you like he just did.

It's amazing how fast rumors spread through the student body. By the afternoon the entire school knew that Sakura and Sasuke were going together and were probably both off the market as well. Many guys were upset that Sakura had chosen Sasuke, they didn't have a chance. Sasuke's new relationship status had majority of the girls in the school in an uproar. Most of the girl population had erupted into tears and a small handful had been furious that some nerd was picked over them.

There were also students that could really care less. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura, were real icons of the school. Sasuke sort of was, but he was more of a nice eye candy than anything else. No one outside their small circle of friends truly knew him. And then there was the small amount of kids that smiled and laughed at the news. 'It's about time' became common phrase when referring to the two of them.

By the time school got out everyone knew about them. It shouldn't have been a surprise to Sakura that a pissed off Ino was waiting by her car for her to show up. "Uh oh. I forgot something, I'll be right back." Sakura's eyes widened as soon as she caught sight of Ino and immediately tried to escape the tongue lashing she knew was coming.

"Oh no you don't! Get back here Sakura Haruno!" Ino screeched. Sasuke almost laughed when he saw Sakura's shoulders sag. There was no chance of escaping now. "When were you going to tell me huh? I had to hear this from Kiba. Kiba! I thought we were best friends!"

Sasuke winced as Ino's voice raised to an almost harpy like screech. While Ino confronted Sakura, Sasuke took the time to slip away from the two girls. He can handle bullies, overly aggressive boys, and even horrendous monsters, but when it came to Ino, Sakura was on her own.

Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't manage to get very far before Naruto pounced on him. "I heard the news! Congrats man!" Naruto had an arm slung around Sasuke's shoulder as he laughed and grinned so wide that Sasuke was waiting for his face to split open. And he kind of hoped that it would so that he wouldn't have to deal with this embarrassment. "This is so great! Now you can come with me to get a tux."

Sasuke groaned. That was one of the last things he wanted to do. "I need to see Orochimaru first," Sasuke said. He had called the scientist and made an appointment for that afternoon. Before anyone else got more excited over this he had to make sure that he could actually attend this stupid dance.

Naruto pulled himself away and wrapped his arms around himself as a shiver went through his body. "Orochimaru, why? That guy always gives me the creeps."

Sasuke looked away and sighed. "Yeah, me too." He chose to ignore Naruto's first question. He wasn't about to explain his reasonings to anyone else. He didn't really like Orochimaru either, but he needed him. Orochimaru had things that Sasuke wanted. He would cooperate with that creepy scientist as long as he needed to.

**A/N: I'm struggling with this romance stuff. I feel like I'm rushing it but I also don't want to drag it out any farther. I think 11 chapters (and more than 10 years in the story) is enough time and they already had feelings for each other, now they're just expressing it. I also feel like Sasuke is really ooc but he's such an ass in canon and not romantic at all I had to mess with his personality. I think I did an okay job, but let me know what you guys think. **

**Rice ball….I really don't like that translation but I don't want to incorporate Japanese words randomly throughout the story (and incase some people don't know what it means). Besides sensei, but I was using that as a tittle and it's also used in the dub. I personally call them musubi (onigiri = omusubi) but I haven't seen anyone on fanfiction call them that yet so I didn't want to use that either .**

**On a sad note I'm going to go ahead and prematurely apologize because my updates are probably going to slow down. Up until now I've had the next chapter already prewritten, or at least part of it done, when I release a new chapter. And now that I'm all caught up it might take a bit longer. Also I just started working night shift and daytime insomnia is kicking my ass. So I'm just laying around trying to sleep instead of doing productive things. Enough excuses…I will try very hard to keep pumping out chapters. I don't want to keep you guys waiting too long, but please be patient I won't ever leave this story unfinished :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Sasuke walked into Orochimaru's lab while Naruto waited outside in the parking lot. Naruto reclined his driver seat and got comfy, they didn't know how long the appointment would take. Sasuke left Naruto lying back in his car bobbing his head to the music that was playing rather loudly from the radio.

He had to briefly explain the situation to Naruto since he kept pestering him about it. Naruto was a bit uncomfortable with Sasuke trying out experimental drugs but nothing he could say would sway Sasuke's decision. The most Naruto could do was to be supportive and be there for Sasuke in case anything bad happened.

Ino refused to relinquish Sakura, saying that they were due for some much needed girl time. So that left Sasuke to catch a ride with Naruto who was only too happy to oblige. If everything goes well at the appointment then the two of them would go in search for some tuxes to rent. Something else that Sasuke wasn't looking forward too.

Sasuke was surprised to see Orochmaru waiting for him in the labs lounge. Normally Orochimaru stayed down in his lab, buried in his work, and rarely came up to the lounge. Apparently the scientist was more excited to test their new experiment than Sasuke was. Previously Sasuke had explained everything over the phone the other day and was told that the serum was basically complete.

"There you are," Orochimaru smiled. "Here it is, we just finished it this morning. If all our research is correct this should work." Orochimaru picked up a white paper bag that sat on the table next to him. At first glance it looked like those small baggies that prescriptions get picked up in. Orochimaru opened the bag and pulled out a small capped needle filled with a golden colored liquid.

"That's it?" Sasuke took the needle and examined it. It didn't look like anything special and a few curious sniffs showed that it also lacked a very distinguishable smell.

"Simply inject it, preferably in your arm but anywhere would work really. Take it before nightfall and it should suppress the change," Orochimaru began to explain. "But be careful, when you transform your body releases a lot of adrenaline and different kinds of hormones, so anything that will naturally cause your body to produce these things can induce a change even after taking the serum. So in other words you need to keep calm. Avoid becoming too angry or excited."

Orochimaru chuckled and smirked at him. Sasuke glared angrily at the scientist but could feel the back of his neck turn red in embarrassment. He was bound to get plenty of dirty jokes from Naruto, he didn't need them from Orochimaru too.

"There is also one more dose in the bag. Take it with you and only use it if you feel like the first one is wearing off or you're about to change." Orochimaru handed Sasuke the bag and stood up. Sasuke took the bag and looked in it to see another capped needle sitting innocently in the bottom of the bag. He placed the other needle inside and folded down the top of the bag.

"Thanks," Sasuke said and turned to leave.

"Of course. And make sure to come see me later and tell me everything that happens. This is only the first trial, I'm sure there are many ways we can improve it." Orochimaru instructed. "And try taming that hair of yours. You want to look nice for your date."

Sasuke was practically out the door when the scientist offered his last piece of advice. Orochimaru smiled at Sasuke's pissed off expression when he stopped to turn around and glare at him.

"No," Sasuke said firmly before slamming the door closed. As Sasuke stomped over to Naruto's car he could hear Orochimaru laughing at him.

When Sasuke slid into the passenger seat Naruto readjusted his chair and turned down the radio. "That was fast." Naruto had expected Sasuke's appointment to be much longer and had been preparing for a nap.

"I just had to pick it up. Everything was ready," Sasuke said.

"Great! Let's get going then," Naruto cheered. Sasuke sighed, this was going to be a long afternoon. Shopping with Naruto was almost as bad as shopping with the girls.

* * *

Sakura spent most of the afternoon being interrogated by Ino at their favorite café. She loved her friend but sometimes she was just too much. Sakura gave her the bare minimum of what she wanted to know but Ino wasn't accepting that. She relentlessly bugged her for all the juicy details.

Luckily for Sakura, Tenten and Hinata arrived to divert Ino's attention. Of course the other two girls wanted to know if the rumors were true and Sakura simply confirmed what everyone had been saying. Congratulations and hugs went around and food and drinks were ordered.

The inevitable question came up about how she expected Sasuke to make it to the dance. Sakura was uncomfortable talking about this. It felt like she was sharing a secret that no one else was supposed to know. But Sasuke didn't ask her to keep the serum a secret and people would definitely ask when Sasuke showed up as a human.

She got mixed reactions from the girls. Ino and Tenten thought it was an amazing new discovery and were excited about it. Hinata was the only one to share her concern about the serum being dangerous and having any negative side effects. Ino was quick to point out that all medicines have a chance of potentially dangerous side effects but that doesn't stop people from taking them.

They stayed in the little café well into the afternoon. It was nice being able to spend time with her girlfriends, but she was mentally exhausted by the time she got home.

Instead of doing her homework in her room like she normally would, she let herself into Sasuke's house and made herself at home. She pushed aside his things and made space on his desk for her to work on. She wanted to be here when Sasuke got home.

Even if they were only separated for a few hours she missed him. It seemed silly at first to miss him already since they were together so much, but now the time they spent together seemed all the more precious.

It was almost an hour later when the door opened. Sakura swiveled around in the chair to greet Sasuke as he walked through the door. She couldn't hide her giggle at how beat Sasuke looked. He was slightly slouching while he carried his school bag and a plastic bag that held the rented tux.

"Naruto give you a hard time?" she asked.

Sasuke groaned and threw his things to the corner of the room and landed face first onto his bead. Sakura laughed at his antics and went to pick up the tux. "Wow that bad huh?" She gently shook the wrinkles out of the clothes before hanging them up in his closet.

"I never want to go with him to get a tux again." Sasuke rolled over to glare at the ceiling while he complained about his afternoon experience. "We got kicked out of three stores before finally finding something that he liked. Hinata owes me big time. Do you know how long it took to convince that idiot not to get a bright orange tux?!"

"Are you serious?" Sakura laughed. In fact it was completely plausible. Naruto loved anything orange. No matter how ungodly bright it was. She could clearly imagine him prancing around in a lovely orange penguin suit.

"He had to settle for an orange tie. And he somehow managed to find one with little foxes on them." Sasuke massaged his temples as he recalled shopping with Naruto. Never again. That idiot can go alone and dress like a clown if he wanted too.

Sakura moved to the bed and sat next to him. She gently ran her fingers through his hair and laid a small kiss to his forehead when he turned over to look at her. "Aww my poor puppy, had to babysit Naruto all afternoon," she teased him in a baby voice.

Sasuke glared lightly at her new pet name. "Then you can go with him next time," Sasuke grumbled.

"Sure, then you can go with Ino," Sakura smiled. She flopped down on the bed and cuddled up next to his side. She rested her head on his shoulder and threw her arm loosely around him. Sasuke gripped her waist and pulled her closer, if it was possible.

"I can barely handle Naruto. You really think I can hold back not killing your crazy blond friend?" Sasuke complained. Sakura laughed as she tried to imagine what would happen. Ino would complain and take forever until Sasuke would snap and probably destroy the store with Ino still inside.

Sakura sobered up from laughing as she brought up a more serious topic. "Since you already picked up your tux I'm assuming that everything with Orochimaru went well?" Sasuke nodded. "It's still a new product right? What if something goes wrong? You don't have to do this you know, it really doesn't bother me. I'm perfectly fine with what you are." She reached and cupped his cheek.

"It bothers me though. Just let me do this," Sasuke said. He turned his head slightly to look at her. No matter how many times Sakura told him that she didn't care what he was it wouldn't make a difference. In Sasuke's eyes, being what he was set him apart from everyone else.

Being this close to her he could see every fine intricate detail that made up that unique shade of green of her eyes. He could also see sadness in them. That made him frown.

He leaned in and gave her a light kiss. "Everything is going to be fine. Don't worry."

Sakura sighed and smiled at him, the sadness that lingered in her eyes faded away to be replaced with something else. Love? Sasuke wasn't sure but getting that look from her warmed his insides and made him feel like mush.

"I'm always going to worry," Sakura whispered. She cupped his face with both hands and brought him down for another kiss. They had been doing this a lot lately. They took every opportunity to touch, kiss, and just hold each other. Years of holding back were quickly catching up to them.

Sasuke propped himself on his elbows and leaned over her. His tongue traced her bottom lip before working its way into her mouth. Their kissing became less innocent and more fevered.

Sakura's hands left his face and ran themselves over his body. Her hands trailed over his arms, shoulders, and back leaving a fiery trail in their wake.

Her actions ignited something in Sasuke. He growled loudly and broke the kiss. He moved down to her neck and started to nuzzle it, running his nose up and down the length of her throat. Sakura gasped when Sasuke's nuzzling began to turn into licks and nibbles. She gripped the back of his shirt and bit down her bottom lip to try to stifle the whimpers that came bubbling out of her throat. An uncontrollable heat began to spread through her body making her squirm and press her legs together.

"Sakura? Sasuke?" Mebuki's voice and knocking on the door made the two of them shoot apart. They shared a nervous look as they both desperately tried to catch their breath.

Sakura quickly made her way to the door, straitening her clothes and hair on the way. "Hey mom," she smiled and tried to force away the blush that was most likely covering he cheeks.

"Just letting you know that dinners ready." Mebuki raised her eyebrow curiously. She could read her daughter like an open book. Sakura looked nervous, she was hiding something. Mebuki's eyes scanned the room, looking over Sakura's books on the desk and Sasuke lying too innocently on the bed.

She gave a knowing look to her daughter and a sinister smile. "Come eat in a few minutes before it gets cold." With that Mebuki closed the door and went back to the house.

Sakura turned and scowled lightly at Sasuke. "If I get 'the talk' again from my mother you're going to get it."

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle. "That's not my fault."

* * *

The last couple days before the dance were boringly average. The only excitement came from the morning after everyone found out that Sasuke and Sakura were official.

When the two of them arrived, Sakura was instantly confronted by a very disgruntled Lee. When he found out that his dear Sakura was now taken he was heartbroken. He ran up to Sakura in tears and grasped her hands and begged her to tell him that the rumors weren't true.

Sakura was stunned and unable to answer. Unluckily for Lee, Sasuke decided to answer for her and forcibly tore the bawling boy away.

Sakura still laughed at the memory of Lee challenging Sasuke to a 'duel' for her heart. Of course Sasuke refused such an absurd request, which only led to Lee pestering him all day.

"What's so funny?" Sakura was a bit startled at her mother's question. She had been so caught up in her memories she had forgotten that she was currently eating lunch with her mom.

"Oh nothing," Sakura giggled.

Her mom just smiled and shook her head. Mebuki was seated across the kitchen table from her daughter and was very amused from watching her daughters face filter through a multitude of different expressions while she was thinking.

"Are you excited about the dance tonight?" Sakura nodded a small smile spreading across her face. They talked about the dresses the girls purchased together and how excited she was that Naruto finally asked out Hinata.

"They look so cute together. I'm really looking forward to tonight, especially that all of us have dates," Sakura gushed over how adorable she thought Naruto and Hinata were.

But her mom was more concerned with the last part. "That's so sweet. So who's your date?"

Sakura froze. She was so busy gushing about Naruto she let that last part slip. Mebuki smiled innocently at her daughter and leaned in closer waiting patiently for her answer. But Sakura knew that look. While her smile was warm and friendly she was not about to let her daughter escape.

Uh oh.

* * *

Sasuke was laying in his bed just staring up at the ceiling. The dance was tonight as well as the full moon. He was beyond anxious. In his mind he kept replaying all the things that could go wrong. The serum wouldn't work, he might suddenly transform during in the middle of a room packed with other students, or Sakura might have second thoughts about going with him. That last one was a bit farfetched but his imagination was working in overdrive.

His morbid thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in."

He wasn't expecting Sakura to burst into his room in a panicked state. Her eyes were wide and her face slightly pale. Sasuke abruptly sat up, concern etched into his features. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry it slipped!" Sakura shouted. From there she began to ramble on too quickly for Sasuke to understand.

"What?" Sasuke was confused. What in the world was she talking about?

Sakura took a big gulp of air as she tried to calm her racing heart. "I accidently told me mom that we're going to the dance together. She's bound to tell my dad, there's no way she would keep it a secret from him." Sakura began to panic. She was by no means ashamed of Sasuke, but Sasuke and her father had only just started to tolerate each other. And that had taken years!

Sasuke had to fight down the urge to roll his eyes. "Is that all?" He hadn't wanted her parents to know right away but at the same time he didn't want to go behind their backs. He motioned her over to come sit next to him on the bed when she began to protest.

Sakura fidgeted before sitting stiffly next to him. Her hands were clutched together in her lap in a sad way of trying to calm her nerves. She just couldn't understand how he could be so calm! "I had to tell her about your cure thing too." When she first told her mom that she was going with Sasuke, her mom instantly brought up the full moon issue. Since the truth was already out she might as well give her mom the complete story.

Sasuke shrugged and placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed them gently. "Don't worry about it."

"But-"

"I'll deal with your dad and I don't really think your mom is going to protest too much," Sasuke interrupted. "They're your parents, they deserve to know. Even if your dad doesn't exactly like me. I don't intend to keep this a secret from them forever."

Forever. Sasuke was already thinking that far ahead, even if they were only officially together for a short time. Sakura felt a warm buzz spread from her chest and fog her brain. Forever with Sasuke. Thinking back it seemed like they were always together. She couldn't even begin to imagine a future without him in it.

"Maybe I was over reacting a little," Sakura giggled. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "Okay fine, I was over reacting a lot." Sasuke chuckled at her frown.

"Are you ready for tonight?" Sasuke asked.

"I think I should be the one asking you that," Sakura responded. She was excited about being able to spend the time with him of course, but this was much more important for him. "Nervous?"

Sasuke sighed. "Very. But I'm looking forward to it too." He was nervous ever since he picked up the serum from Orochimaru. This was a huge step for him. For them.

"If it doesn't work then let's just skip the dance. We can go do something else." Sakura smiled warmly at him. "Just don't bring me anymore dead rabbits."

Sasuke couldn't explain the feelings that washed through him at that moment. Sakura had been looking forward to going to the dance but she was willing to skip it just to spend time with him. Looking into her eyes he could see them sparkling with happiness. There weren't words that came close to explaining how grateful he was to have her. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

"That was one time, and I didn't leave it there for you," Sasuke teased. He leaned in for another longer kiss but Sakura pulled away after a few short seconds.

"I have to go get ready," she blushed.

Sasuke looked over at his clock and frowned. "You have three hours," he grumbled. That should be way more than enough time to get ready. How long could it take to get ready?

"Beauty takes time," Sakura giggled. Sasuke scoffed making Sakura laugh. He was pouting it was so cute. Sasuke may have thought he was safe behind his tough guy exterior but he was practically transparent to her. She gave him one last kiss on the cheek before practically skipping to the door.

"Tease."

She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him before closing the door.

* * *

Those last three hours seemed to take an eternity to go by. Sasuke was sitting at his desk in just his boxers fiddling with the needle between his fingers. The sun was setting and it would be dark within the next few minutes. He could feel the fire in his veins pulsing, his body anticipating the transformation.

Now it was time to see if Orochimaru was capable of achieving everything he claimed he could. Sasuke slowly removed the cap from the needle and let it clatter to the floor. He leaned back in his chair and lifted the needle so he could inspect the yellow fluid one last time.

It was now or never.

Sasuke extended his arm and grit his teeth as he pressed he needle beneath the skin on the underside of his arm near the slightly visible vein. He watched anxiously as the contents of the needle drained into his body.

With a grunt he pulled the empty needle out and slammed it on the desk. He stared intently at the small prick on his skin where the needle had penetrated. A tingling sensation spread from the injection point to every particle of his body.

He leaned back into his chair once more and closed his eyes and tried to focus on keeping his breathing calm and even. The fire that was there earlier was fading. His racing heart slowed to a normal pace.

Nothing was happening. But then wasn't that a good thing?

Sasuke looked out the window to see that the sun had just dipped below the horizon. It worked. The urge to shift had dwindled away to almost nothing. But he could still feel it slightly, a nagging irritation in the back of his mind.

He clenched and unclenched his hands as the initial tingling began to fade. Sasuke laughed, a rare smile made its way onto his face. It worked! He couldn't believe this was real.

Sasuke quickly threw the needle away and went to get his tux. When he was ready he looked himself over in the oval mirror that hung on the wall.

_Try taming that hair of yours_

Sasuke frowned as he recalled Orochimaru's advice. Instead of listening, he purposely ran his hands through his hair to mess it up more. He was never one for taking orders.

This was it. The excitement of the serum success was slowly wearing out and a new set of nerves were beginning to set in. He pocketed the second dose of Orochimaru's serum just in case. With a deep sigh he shut the light and stepped out into the night.

He took his time walking to the main house. Sasuke stopped in the middle of the yard and looked up into the sky. The moon was partially obscured by dark clouds but it still looked beautiful. This was the first time he looked up to full moon as a human and he hoped it wouldn't be the last.

As he gazed up at the moon his smile dropped to a frown. While it was still a beautiful sight there was something off about it. The moon didn't seem as bright as it normally would have. Now that he was paying more attention to the environment around him there were a lot of things that seemed off. It was as if someone had put a bunch of fluff over his ears and nose.

The fresh scent of the forest was almost unnoticeable even if he was standing so close to it. Even the chirping crickets had softened to a dull buzz. All his senses seemed to have been reduced. Was this how humans saw, heard, and smelt? That sucks.

Besides the lack of enhanced senses he also felt a bit tired. He didn't necessarily feel sleepy but his body felt tired and lazy. These were probably side effects from the serum. To Sasuke these small things were nothing compared to the wanted result.

Looking away from the moon he headed towards the house where Sakura was probably waiting for him. He was slightly excited about tonight. Not so much about the dance itself but the milestone that it symbolized.

When he opened the door he felt the blood drain from his face. Kizashi was standing there waiting for him. Sasuke had told Sakura that he could handle her father, but that had been said only to calm her down. In actuality he had no idea how to deal with her father.

The man pretty much detested him until only a few months ago. This was probably going to end badly. Sasuke swallowed nervously and kept his head up trying to appear normal.

Kizashi was leaning heavily on his cane with his eyes fixated on Sasuke. Sasuke was by no means a coward but taking the first few steps into the house towards the hostile father was one of the scariest moments of his life.

Sasuke nodded in greeting but received nothing from Kizashi except for the older man's frown to deepen. This wasn't going well.

The two of them stood together in silence for a painfully long minute. Sasuke nearly flinched when Kizashi shifted his weight and stuck his hand into his pocket. If Kizashi pulled a gun on him Sasuke was not going to hang around. There was no doubt in his mind that Sakura's father wouldn't shoot him point blank.

Sasuke was ready to bolt when Kizashi tossed something at him. Sasuke caught the object before hit him in the face. Keys? Maybe they were set to explode?

He was staring at the keys curiously as if it were some foreign object from another planet when Kizashi finally said something. "You bring her home as soon as this stupid things done and not a second later. Understood?" Kizashi growled.

Sasuke nodded. He was in shock. This was certainly not what he was expecting. By the look on his face Kizashi was still very upset but he was still letting them go together.

"You better not scare him off!" An angry yell from upstairs made both of them jump.

Kizashi's cheeks reddened slightly and Sasuke had to try very hard to hide his smirk. Mebuki was a very nice lady, but she was scary when she was upset. No matter how much Kizashi might dislike Sasuke he was not about to cross his wife.

With a sigh Kizashi finally broke eye contact and went to sit on the couch while they waited for his daughter and wife to finish with whatever they were doing. He hated to admit it but Sasuke was a decent kid. He may have gotten into a few fights at school but that was the extent of his crimes. When he saw how happy his daughter was when she was getting ready and animatedly talking with his wife he couldn't bring himself to argue with them.

Sasuke at least deserved a chance. Even if the thought of his daughter being with a wolf made him cringe.

Mebuki came in a few minutes later to spare both of them from the awkward silence. She was practically skipping and just glowing with happiness.

"Aww you look so handsome," Mebuki gushed over Sasuke and bounced over to him. She smoothed over his clothes to remove any clinging wrinkles. Sasuke didn't like being fussed over but he let Mebuki do whatever she wanted since she was shielding him from Kizashi.

"How are you feeling?" she quietly asked him.

"Good. I'm okay," Sasuke answered.

Mebuki smiled warmly at him. "Kakashi is one of the teachers that are going to chaperoning the students so if you need to get out at any time just let him know." Knowing that Kakashi was going to be around was reassuring. On normal circumstances, students wouldn't be allowed to leave until the dance was over unless they had their parent's permission which would make it difficult for Sasuke to escape if something goes wrong.

"Are you done yet?" Mebuki yelled.

"Hold on I'm coming!" came Sakura's answering yell.

When Sakura finally came into the room Sasuke's eyes widened. He was there when he saw her purchasing the red dress that now clung to her body but it looked so much better now that she was actually wearing it. The v-cut neck line nicely framed her necklace that held the crystal, it complemented her dress well. Sasuke almost forgot that her necklace was the key to activating his own. The silver chain never left his person and he forgot it was even there most times.

Sakura smiled shyly at him and tucked a few pink strands of hair behind her ear. The rest of her hair was pinned up in an intricate bun.

Sasuke held out his arm to her and gave her a miniscule smile. Sakura quickly latched herself onto his arm as the two of them headed towards the door.

"Wait! Pictures!" Mebuki yelled after them and scrambled to find her camera. Sakura giggled and Sasuke groaned. After a few more grueling minutes of picture taking they were finally ready to leave.

"You could have at least smiled in some of them," Sakura laughed at Sasuke as they got into the car. Sasuke was driving since it only seemed right. It would also be awkward for Sakura to try to drive in heels since she wasn't used to them. Sasuke already had to catch her when she lost her footing on the way to the car.

"I did smile," Sasuke said, "And having your dad glaring at me wasn't giving me any incentive to smile."

"He really didn't give you any trouble?" Sakura asked. She was surprised that Sasuke and her dad had seemed civil when she had come out of her room.

"If looks could kill, I'd be dead. But other than that he just said come home on time."

Sakura smiled widely not bothering to hide her excitement. Her dad was okay with Sasuke. Maybe not completely alright but he didn't flat out try to tear them apart. There was hope still for them.

When they finally arrived at the location of the dance the two of them were tingling with nerves. The school had rented out the ballroom of one of the local hotels for the students to use for their dance.

They walked together arm in arm as they approached the doors. They ignored the other people who began to spill out of the other cars around them. Sasuke paused and looked up one last time at the moon before entering the building. Sakura stopped and leaned against him, looking up at they sky.

This is what he wanted. They wanted. They two of them shared a quick kiss before entering the building.

**A/N: Sorry this is late. The last half of this chapter just didn't want to be written. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The ball room was decorated nicely with a blue and silver theme. The slightly dimmed lights made the silvery bits twinkle pleasantly. Music was already playing as Sasuke and Sakura walked in. The music was loud but it was still quiet enough for them to hear each other.

They were pounced on almost immediately was they came through the door. Ino bounced enthusiastically around the two of them gushing over their appearances.

"Shush Ino," Sakura whispered harshly. She stuffed her hands over her friend's mouth in order to quiet Ino. When Ino had finished complimenting her dress and her hair she had moved onto Sasuke. Sakura knew that she had to stop her before she blurted something stupid about Sasuke being a werewolf.

Ino frowned at Sakura and continued to mumble threw Sakura's fingers. When Sakura refused to move her hand Ino yanked her fingers away from her mouth.

"Rude! I was just complimenting on how cute you two were. Geez," Ino whined. Ino then led them to the table that the rest of their friends were already seated.

Naruto immediately latched himself to Sasuke and started sniggering. "Hinata liked my tie," he whispered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course she does." Never again. He was never going to shop with Naruto again. Ever.

While he was distracted with Naruto, Lee went up to Sakura and began to gush over his appearance. He fluttered around her showering her with praise making her blush. "Oh Sakura! You are most beautiful tonight!" Lee cried, his eyes sparkling with affection.

"T-thank you," Sakura blushed. Tenten managed to pull Lee away before Sasuke noticed and threw a fit. Tears fell from Lee's eyes as Tenten pulled him away from a startled Sakura.

Soon after they arrived the doors closed signaling the start of the dance. Naruto, Chouji, and Kiba made a bee line for the long table that was riddled with food. "We better make a plate before those three devour everything," Sakura laughed and led the rest of them to get some food.

"How can they not have any ramen?!" Naruto's pained yell caused laughter to erupt throughout the room.

After Naruto's fussing over his favorite staple food source the rest of the meal went pretty smoothly. Emptied plates piled up around the table as the night went by. After most of the food had been cleared the music began to increase in volume. Ino, Sakura, Tenten immediately jumped up and joined the growing group of people on the dance floor.

"C'mon guys we can't just let the girls have all the fun!" Kiba chugged the rest of his drink and ran off to find a willing dance partner. Lee and surprisingly Shino stood up to join him.

"Want to dance Hinata?" Naruto asked, holding his hand out to her. Hinata blushed and stammered. She shook her head violently much too embarrassed to even imagine dancing with Naruto. But Naruto was persistent. "It will be fun I promise," he smiled warmly at her, trying to silently encourage her. Hinata whimpered quietly and took his hand. Naruto cheered and danced towards the crowd of people dragging a madly blushing Hinata with him.

Sasuke remained where he was seated and was quite content to watch Neji's facial expression as he watched Naruto and Hinata. That guy was more overprotective than he was and Sasuke found it extremely amusing. Neji was slowly getting over his aversion to Naruto and his cousin dating but his displeasure shown in special cases like now. Naruto was busy trying to pull off some ridiculous dance move making Hinata laugh.

"Not gonna dance?" Chouji asked glancing at everyone else that still sat at the table. Sasuke looked over at Chouji who was still munching away on food and shrugged. He wasn't into stuff like this, and he would rather not look as ridiculous as Naruto did at the moment.

"Not really my cup of tea," Shikamaru answered. If he had his way he probably would have stayed home but Ino was very persistent.

Neji didn't bother answering. He was still staring disapprovingly at his cousin and her choice of boyfriend.

"My god, let it go," Shikamaru groaned. Shikamaru slouched in his chair and rested his face in the palm of his hand. Naruto and Hinata were a thing, Neji just had to accept that.

"I know, but-" Neji pinched the bridge of his nose," Just what does she see in him?" They all turned to look at what Naruto was doing. The blonde boy was currently laughing boisterously and spinning Hinata in circles.

They were all amazed when Sasuke spoke up. "Naruto's a good guy. Even if he's an idiot." The rest of the guys nodded in agreement. Naruto might not be the brightest crayon in the box but he had a big heart.

The night went on normally with a few quiet conversations occasionally starting between the guys. The ones that were dancing would stop by for a few minutes to catch their breath and get something to drink. They would hang around for a little while before getting back to the dance floor.

After a while, Sasuke was starting to get uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat, trying to be discreet. He was starting to feel hot and strained in his own skin. His muscles had started to tense up and he could feel his heart start to pick up speed. The serum must have started to ware off. But it was still relatively early into the night he would have hoped that the serum lasted much longer than a few measly hours. He took deep calming breaths and it seemed to help.

Shikamaru noticed Sasuk's discomfort and grasped his shoulder warily. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Sasuke answered quickly.

Shikamaru didn't look convinced. "We're here to help, if you need it." Shikamaru reminded him.

Sasuke was always surprised when people other than Naruto and Sakura tried to support him. He glanced around the table and saw Choji and Neji were also looking at him worriedly.

"Thanks," Sasuke said quietly. The feeling of knowing that others cared about you was nice. His racing heart slowed a little and his muscles began to relax. The tense feeling didn't go completely away but it became much more tolerable.

The rapid beat of the music shifted to a slow soothing melody. People began to move off the dance floor leaving behind the slow dancing couples.

"Shikamaru come dance with me!" Ino shouted from the dance floor. Shikamaru groaned and let his head all onto the table. Tenten tried to wave Neji over only to have him shake his head at her.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura to see her smiling sweetly at him. She clearly wanted to dance with him but she wasn't going to ask him to do something that he had no intention of doing.

"Get over here and dance with me you lazy ass!" Ino suddenly appeared next to them and began tugging on Shikamaru. Tenten popped up next to Neji and wrapped her arms around him and pleaded with him using puppy dog eyes. With a sigh, Neji pushed back his chair and stood up to let Tenten pull him over to the open dance area. Ino soon followed suit with a grumbling Shikamaru right behind her.

Sasuke continued to watch as Sakura laughed at Naruto who was floundering around hopelessly trying very hard not to trample over Hinata's toes.

"Go ahead. I'll watch the table," Chouji grinned at him.

With a nod, Sasuke was up and heading toward the others. He took his time getting there, going over his sudden decision over again in his head. He really didn't want to dance but he also didn't want to disappoint Sakura.

Sakura was slightly surprised when Sasuke suddenly showed up next to her. He silently offered her his hand.

"You know how to dance?" she giggled at him.

"How hard can it be?" Sasuke shrugged. If Naruto could dance he was sure he could figure something out. Sakura smiled and slipped her hand into his. Her other hand went up to rest on his shoulder and his hand lay gently on her waist.

After glancing quickly around the room, Sasuke mimicked the movements of the other couples surrounding them. His movements were graceful but slightly unsure. Sakura began to guide him in the correct steps until he managed to grasp the concept on his own. Within a few minutes he felt confident enough to lead on his own.

Sakura leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She felt like she was surrounded in a cocoon of warmth as the danced. Her smile widened when she felt Sasuke kiss the top of her head. She was on cloud nine and couldn't be happier.

Sakura took the chance to glance around at her friends who seemed to be enjoying themselves. No matter how much Shikamaru had fussed he still had a small smile on his face as he twirled Ino around. Tenten seemed to be completely content to stay in Neji's arms forever and Neji himself looked at peace.

And of course Naruto and Hinata were probably having the best time out of all of them. It was a good thing Neji was too distracted to notice when the two of them started kissing.

The first slow song blended into another, then another. To the couples on the dance floor, time seemed to stand still as they twirled around the room.

But the tranquility didn't last forever. Sasuke let out a surprised gasp as the muscles in his body began to convulse. Sweat began to bead across his forehead as he gasped for breath. He felt winded, like someone had just punched him in the gut.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked when Sasuke groaned and covered his face with the palm of his hand. Her brow creased in worry and she stepped back slightly to examine him better.

Sasuke tried to mask his distress in order to keep her from worrying. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." Sakura watched him worriedly as he stumbled into the men's bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, Sasuke leaned against the wall and began to pant.

It was too hot.

His skin was too tight.

The serum must have been starting to wear off. A quick glance around the room told him that the bathroom was empty. Sasuke quickly reached into his pocket with trembling hands and pulled out the last syringe from Orochimaru.

He hastily pulled up his sleeve and jabbed the needle into his arm. He closed his eyes and waited for the tingling sensation to radiate through his body. He felt the serum counter act the urge to transform and he let out a long drawn out sigh. Sasuke let his head fall back to rest on the wall while he caught his breath.

"I should have known you were a druggie."

Sasuke shot up. He hadn't heard or smelt anyone else around. Fucking human senses. He felt his anger rise when Takao stumbled out of the end stall.

"Or maybe its steroids. Your way too strong for having such a puny body," Takao said.

Sasuke noticed the slight slur in his voice and the sway in his step. He didn't need a wolf's nose to be able to smell the reek of alcohol wafting from him.

"Its prescription," Sasuke glowered. He yanked the needle out of his arm and pocketed it. "I'm in here because it's not really anyone's business."

Takao laughed. "I'm sure. That's what they all say." Takao began to babble incomprehensible things under his breath and wobbled toward Sasuke. He tried to wrap his arm around him, but nearly fell when Sasuke moved swiftly away. "Aww that's cold. I thought we were buddies. Takao couldn't seem to stop sniggering as he leaned on the wall to support himself.

It didn't seem to bother him that Sasuke wasn't talking back to him. He continued to talk even with the lack of response. "You're so lucky man."

Now Sasuke was confused. What was he talking about now? Sasuke never liked Takao. He was an asshole, bully, and really cocky. And now he was a giant irritant.

"I always thought she was weird since we were kids but now she turned out to be pretty hot. Kinda regret picking on her now," Takao continued to babble. Picking on her? Who was he talking about? Sakrua? "I mean I could have had her wrapped around my finger like all the other floozies in this dump."

Sasuke began to frown. He tried not to pay attention to Takao as much as possible while they were growing up so he couldn't recall how many other people he had actually picked on. The only person he could think of was Sakura. "Who are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, finally interrupting the other boy's drunken babbling.

Takao blinked at him confusedly for a moment. "You know who I'm talking about. Sakura who else. She looked so hot tonight, but I bet she would look even better without anything at all."

Sasuke instantly tensed and grit his teeth so hard that he was amazed that they didn't crack. "Shut up," he growled darkly.

Takao seemed to sober up slightly and lost his blissful grin. He frowned at Sasuke's threatening tone. "You know I'm right. I bet you fucked her a bunch of times. How is she? Is she a screamer? She seems kinda quiet in public but I know some girls who are completely different once you do them real good."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Sasuke could hear his heart thumping rapidly in his ears. How dare this bastard talk about her like that! It took all his will power to keep an angry snarl from escaping his lips. Sasuke could feel the anger boiling his blood and churning his stomach. The two boys had always got into small fist fights, but this was much more than that. Sasuke wanted to hurt him, break skin and bone and make him suffer excruciating pain for even thinking such things about Sakura.

Takao grinned. He always knew how to rub Sasuke the wrong way and he found great amusement in watching him squirm. He had hit the jackpot this time. "Don't wanna tell me? Fine, then let me borrow her. I'll try not to break her."

Something in Sasuke snapped. His vison blurred and a red haze covered everything. All the sound around him was muffled from the roaring of blood in his ears. He was going to make that bastard feel pain like nothing he had ever felt before. Sasuke let out a vicious growl before he lunged at Takao. He managed to make out the other boy's frightened expression before his vison was completely taken over by red.

Time had lost all meaning. Sasuke didn't know how much time had passed. It could have been seconds or hours and he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Sasuke felt arms slip around him and pull him away from Takao. He fought whoever was trying to restrain him by trying to force his way forward and clawing at their arms. He wasn't done. Takao still had to pay. He could hear muffled voices and sounds but couldn't make anything out. And at this point he didn't really care.

"Sasuke stop!"

He froze. Once sound made it through the fog that clouded his senses. He knew that voice, it was very familiar to him. Sakura. It was Sakura's voice. Sasuke felt small hands gently cup his face and his anger slowly began fading away.

He blinked away the red haze clearing his vison. The first thing that came into focus was Sakura's worried face. "Breath, calm down," she told him quietly. She gently began to stroke his cheek as she talked soothingly to him.

Sasuke felt the arms around him loosen and fall away. He looked back to see Kakashi standing behind him with trickles of blood running down his arms. Did he do that? Kakashi must have been the one who was trying to hold him back.

The next thing to catch his eye was the body of the unconscious Takao laid sprawled on the bathroom floor. His clothes were ruffled and his face bloodied and bruised. He was sure to be spouting at least one black eye to go with his broken nose. Sasuke glared at the body. To him it still wasn't enough. He wanted to bite. To tear into that pathetic bastards flesh.

"What happened?" Sakura asked.

A wave of pain washed over Sasuke, making him double over and nearly keel over in pain. Kakashi was quick to grab him and keep him up right. Sasuke let Kakashi hold majority of his weight as he slumped against him. He grit his teeth and began to groan in pain.

The serum wasn't working this time. The adrenaline rush from beating the shit out of Takao was triggering his transformation. And it hurt. He had never experienced a transformation that hurt like this. His body had been struggling to return to its natural state for hours and now it was forcing him to shift.

"We need to go," Sasuke gasped. "I need to get out now."

"Just go I'll take care of things here," Kakashi said quickly. Sakura wrapped one of Sasuke's arm around her shoulders and ushered him back out. Sasuke was heavy and he was having trouble walking. She could feel him quivering against her as his body convulsed and twitched.

"Sakura! Sasuke!" Naruto was almost immediately by their side once they left the bathroom.

"Sasuke needs to leave now. Can you distract everyone? We don't want any unnecessary attention," Sakura asked.

Naruto nodded, "Of course. It's going to be a bit difficult since their tussle in the bathroom had attracted a lot of people's attention."

"Thanks so much."

Naruto ran off and disappeared around the corner. They managed to make it outside to her car without anyone stopping them.

Sakura sped out of the parking lot and headed straight toward her house, breaking multiple traffic laws along the way. She kept casting nervous glances at Sasuke who was groaning in the passenger seat.

Sasuke had his eyes shut and his head thrown back on the head rest. It felt like something was trying to claw its way out from his core and tearing up every fiber of his body along the way.

"Stop!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura jumped and slammed on her breaks, tires screeching at the sudden resistance. They had stopped on the side of the road in a neighborhood close to Sakura's. There was some houses on both sides of the road but it was mostly foliage. Sasuke fumbled with the door and practically fell out of the car. He fussed with his suit and tore it off as soon as he could.

Sakura was immediately out of the car and kneeling next to him as he began to transform. He seemed to be in so much pain Sakura was afraid to touch him, afraid to do anything. He was groaning in agony as his transformation began taking place. Normally his transformation was quick but this time it was agonizingly slow. It was hard for her to watch as his body expanded and twisted into something new.

It took a whole unnatural five minutes for Sasuke to complete his transformation. Once it was finally over he lay curled up on the ground, his muscles still giving an occasional twitch. Sakura took a few tentative steps closer to him and reached her hand out to touch him. Her fingers only just grazed his fur when Sasuke suddenly shot up and bolted.

"Sasuke wait!" Sakura shouted. But he didn't' stop. She watched as he took off and disappeared into the darkness.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to catch him, Sakura jumped back in her car and headed home. She burst into the house and headed straight to her room, ignoring her parents startled and concerned questions.

Sakura quickly tore off her dress and replaced it with a simple shirt and shorts, leaving her gown in a crumpled heap on the floor. She scooped up her flashlight and flew out of the room. She bolted threw the hose and was gone as quickly as she came.

Sakura bravely entered the forest with nothing but a flashlight, grabbing a weapon to protect herself never even crossed her mind. The forest was massive but she knew all of Sasuke's favorite places so she decided to check there first. She called him as she wandered through the underbrush. There was a very large chance that Sasuke was in a completely different part of the forest and she was attracting all kinds of unwanted attention. But she was willing to risk that in order to find him.

She had been searching for almost half an hour and she had seen no sign of him. Sakura was starting to lose hope, but she wouldn't give up. All the racket she had been making was sure to have attracted all kinds of wild animals, supernatural and normal. But no Sasuke. She was thanking her lucky stars that nothing had decided to attack her yet.

Or that was what she thought. Sasuke had actually heard her calling a long time ago but he just couldn't face her. He had been silently following her, watching to make sure she didn't get into any trouble. He watched her sigh and plop down onto a large rock. Her shoulders slumped and he watched as she sadly fiddled with the flashlight in her hands. Sasuke lay on the ground with his head resting on his paws. He let out his own sigh as he watched her. This was supposed to be a happy night, but he had gone and lost his temper and ruined everything. Sakura should have been back at the dance laughing and having fun with her friends, but because of him she was here all alone. All he had to do was keep it together for one night and he couldn't even do that for her.

Sasuke was angry and frustrated with himself. All he wanted to do was make sure Sakura was happy, but he just couldn't do it. He didn't know what to do.

Sakura wasn't sure what to do. Sasuke always seemed to magically appear whenever she called him. It never took him more than a few minutes to appear after she started searching for him. But now he was nowhere to be seen. She couldn't stop the few tears from leaking from her eyes. She wiped her tears, smearing the light makeup she forgot she applied earlier that night.

She was scared. Not about being out in the forest alone, but for Sasuke. Before he had disappeared he looked like he was in a lot of pain. What if something happened to him? He was out there somewhere with no chance of help. Imagining the worst case scenarios made her cry harder.

Sasuke picked his head up, ears perked, as she began to cry. He fidgeted where he lay, becoming increasingly more uncomfortable. He was pissed at himself but Sakura was crying. After hearing her start to whimper he stood up and began walking toward her.

Sakura jumped at the sound of rusting leaves. She watched as Sasuke slowly emerged from the bushes with his head lowered and ears pressed flat against his skull. He looked so sad, but at least he was alright. Sakura rocketed from her seat and lunged at Sasuke. He remained frozen when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You're okay. I was so worried about you," Sakura mumbled into his fur. She clung to him tightly and buried her face into his neck. Sasuke whimpered softly and lay down next to her. Sakura shifted her position and sat leaning against him while he curled slightly around her.

Sasuke sighed again. His appearance had stopped her crying but he was still at a loss of what to do. Sakura immediately picked up on his distress. "What's wrong? Are you still in pain?" He shook his head and looked away from her. Sakura's happiness at finding him was slowly dwindling away. She began to gently rub the spot between his ears. To most people Sasuke was difficult to read but it seemed to come naturally to Sakura. She instantly knew that if Sasuke wasn't physically hurting he must be beating himself up about tonight.

"I had fun tonight."

Sasuke's head shot up and he looked curiously at her. Sakura was beaming at him with a genuine smile on her face. He growled lightly at her and narrowed his eyes in a glare. "I'm not lying," Sakura giggled. "I'm happy just to spend time with you." She leaned toward him and gave him a light peck on the nose.

Sasuke's eyes widened and ears perked up in surprise. She enjoyed herself? Even after his huge fuck up? Sakura laughed at his expression and began to pet him more vigorously, her hands running over his face and neck. "Why do you look so surprised? I had fun. And I already told you that I didn't care if we made it to the dance or not."

Her words made his insecurities melt away. Sasuke closed his eyes and tilted his head to encourage her stroking. His tail began to thump happily on the ground. They sat together for a while just enjoying each other's company. At one point Sasuke even rolled over so Sakura could rub his belly. Something he rarely let her do, no matter how much he enjoyed it. It was just so embarrassing to do something so dog like.

When she paused her petting, Sasuke twisted his body to look at her upside down and pawed her. He didn't want her to stop. Sakura couldn't hold back her laughter at his position. "You're so cute!" she gushed.

Sasuke flipped over and snorted at her making Sakura laugh more. Guys never liked being called cute, but there was no better word to describe how he looked at that moment. He pawed her again to make her stop laughing. It didn't work and only made her giggling intensify.

Sakura's eyes teared and her sides hurt from laughing too hard. "I love you," the words flowed out her mouth so easily.

Sasuke froze and looked at her wide eyed. Did she say what he just thought she did?

At first Sakura was afraid he was going to bolt, but to her relief he just stood there in shock. She smiled warmly at him and slowly approached to stroke the side of his face. "What are you looking at me like that? You make it seem like it was a huge surprise."

She was right. Both of them knew how each other felt. But just hearing it voiced for the first time was slightly startling.

As her words sunk into his brain, and into his heart, Sasuke gained his mobility back. His mouth opened in a slight pant, his version of a smile, and his tail began to wag rapidly. He leaned in and nuzzled her softly before jumping back. Sasuke started prancing around her with an extra bounce in his step. He circled her a few times seeming unsure of what do with himself until he leapt at her and again began to nuzzle her face while making happy whining sounds. Sakura watched him in amazement that was definitely something that she didn't see often. She hadn't seen Sasuke this enthusiastic since they were really little.

Sakura's laughter came back stronger than ever. She held onto his face and nuzzled him back.

While Sakura didn't get an 'I love you' back she didn't need one. To her Sasuke was more expressive in his wolf form. He expressed himself with his entire body rather than just a facial expression or a tone of voice like a human normally would. Sasuke was never vocal anyway so his human state seemed more stoic. She could see that he returned her love by his posture, the warm shine in his eyes, and his tail that was starting to resemble a helicopter propeller.

"I love you," she repeated. This time she was rewarded with loving licks to accompany Sasuke's ecstatic nuzzles.

**A/N: Wow, that took me nearly a month. I'm so sorry everyone! More bad news...my already cramped schedule is about to get worse for a few more months. A small bit of good news, I went ahead and wrote almost half of an upcoming chapter. Either going to be this next one or the one after that, depending on how this plays out. **

**I also neglected all my art projects while working on this so I plan to get some work on those in between writing. Looking at all my uncompleted works is a bit depressing. I'm sorry again for the long wait. Please continue to be patient!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Sasuke and Sakura lay on the forest floor and looked up at the night sky between the branches of the surrounding trees. They watched the clouds roll by and block out the light from the stars and moon for a few moments before blowing away. Sakura was leaning on Sasuke while he lay curled around her. She absentmindedly ran her fingers through his coat repeatedly, savoring the softness between her fingers.

They enjoyed the peace and serenity that surrounded them, it was a drastic difference from all the excitement from earlier that night.

Sakura bolted upright with a startled gasp, breaking the silence of their tranquil spot. Her sudden movement caused Sasuke to jump, his eyes widened and his tail fluffed up. After calming down, Sasuke looked at Sakura and tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"We need to go back!" Sakura began to panic. Sasuke blinked a few times at her confusedly. Go back? Where? Sakura could see the confusion in his eyes and began to explain, "Home. I kind of left the house without saying anything and my parents must be freaking out by now." Sakura chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and playfully stuck out her tongue.

Sasuke gave her a deadpanned expression. Really? Was that all? He had started to seriously worry and she was freaking out over something like that. Sasuke rolled her eyes at her and sighed.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," retorted and flicked the tip of his nose. The flick didn't really hurt but it made him flinch. He scrunched his nose and shook his head before growling softly and lightly glaring at her.

She ignored his irritation and stood up making sure to dust any clinging sticks and leaves from her clothes. After glancing around the clearing a few times Sakura began to realize that her wondering around in search of Sasuke had gotten her completely lost. "Umm, do you know where we are?" Sakura asked. Sasuke had to fight really hard not to roll his eyes again.

Sasuke walked up to her and knelt down slightly. "What?" Sakura couldn't understand what he was trying to tell her. Sasuke tossed his head back and lowered himself closer to the ground. Then it clicked. "You want me to climb on?"

Sasuke nodded and gave her a nudge. It took a bit of convincing to get Sakura to climb on. She instantly refused waving her arms in front of her dramatically, claiming that she was much too heavy. But Sasuke was just as stubborn. After arguing for a few minutes, Sasuke finally got fed up and growled angrily and snapped his jaws at her.

"Fine!" Sakura stomped her foot in frustration. But she wasn't truly angry. She approached him nervously and gripped the fur on his shoulders tightly. When she stood there frozen, it took a nudge from Sasuke to get her going again.

When she was finally seated Sasuke took a few slow steps to slowly ease her into it. Despite her concern she felt extremely light to him. Even at this slow pace Sakura clung on desperately, her fingers entangled in his fur. He could feel her fear coming off of her in waves. At this pace it would take them all night to reach her house.

Sakura squealed when Sasuke suddenly broke out into a sprint. She leaned forward so she was completely pressed against his back with her arms wrapped around his neck. "Sasuke! Stop! Slow down!" Sakura shouted. But her voice was lost to the wind. She knew that Sasuke had excellent hearing and he very likely heard her screaming and complaints, but he was ignoring her. She could do nothing but cling to him and try to enjoy the ride.

Sakura watched warily as the forest became a blur of green around them. After a while Sasuke slowed down slightly. He was still running but she could actually make out the trees and boulders in her surroundings. After working up enough courage Sakura shakily sat up straight. It wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Soon the terrifying ride turned into something much more enjoyable. She began to laugh as the wind whipped the hair away from her face. She was beginning to understand why Sasuke liked running through the forest so much. It was exhilarating.

Sasuke smirked to himself when he heard Sakura's laughter. He loved running, but being able to bring Sakura with him made it so much better. He dodged between trees and jumped over fallen logs with ease. It was like they were flying. He had never thought about trying this with her before but he was really glad he did. Sakura put all her faith and trust in him to keep her safe and he could feel it. It only added to the bond that held them together.

Soon they reached the edge of the forest. The light from the houses illuminating the area past the tree line. Part of them wished that their ride had lasted longer, but Sakura needed to check back in with her parents.

When they finally reached the house, Sakura's parents were already standing outside. Kizashi was on the phone talking hurriedly with whoever was on the other end with Mebuki fluttering around him nervously. Mebuki's eyes lit up when she saw the two of them approaching. She tapped her husband on the shoulder, interrupting his phone call.

Sasuke stopped and let Sakura off when Mebuki swiftly made her way towards them. Kizashi hung up the phone and slowly followed his wife. "Are you two alright?" he asked.

"Yes we're fine. Sorry I ran off without saying anything," Sakura gave them a very vague response, but it was enough to satisfy her parents. She was safe and that was the most important thing.

"We were about to send a search party to find you," Kizashi said. Sakura apologized again and rushed forward to give her father a hug, distracting him from any further scolding.

Sasuke sat down and watched the family interact. When he was younger, he couldn't stop the pangs of jealousy that would shoot through him when he would see Sakura and her parents together. But over time his jealousy dulled to a sad longing. To this day he still missed his family. His memories of them were foggy and hard to recall, but there are somethings that he would never forget. His mother's warm hugs, his father's stern demeanor, and the smile on his brother's face when they would play together would forever be kept in his heart.

As he watched Sakura hug her father the sad feeling slowly melted away. Even if his family was gone, he had her now. But it wasn't just Sakura, there was a whole group of people that he could call friends. Sasuke believed that if his family could see him now they would be proud of him and all the progress he's made.

Sasuke almost didn't notice Mebuki slowly walking towards him. "How are you feeling? I'm sorry this isn't how you wanted the night to turn out," she said softly.

Her words made Sasuke hang his head slightly and let out a long sigh. He was alright but things could have gone much smoother. Mebuki could see that he was a bit depressed and wanted to comfort him. She slowly extended her hand with a nervous expression on her face.

When he picked up on what Mebuki was planning to do Sasuke froze. No one besides Sakura felt comfortable petting him. Naruto still tries on occasion but it was weird to have a guy's hands running all over him. On the other hand, Naruto loved trying to pet him, claiming his fur was really soft. He would try to snuggle only to have Sasuke bristle and snap at him.

Sasuke's eyes flickered over to Kizashi to see him and Sakura watching their interaction intently. Kizashi was stiff, it was obvious how uncomfortable and nervous his wife's actions were making him. Sakura was just hoping that Saskue would behave and not messing things up in front of her dad. She kept her arms wrapped firmly around her dad just in case. His eyes left them and focused on Mebuki's hand that began to quiver slightly as it got closer to him.

Mebuki was very nervous. She honestly liked Sasuke, but his wolf form always made her a bit frightened. Her mothering instincts were practically screaming at her to comfort him, but how was she going to do that when she could hardly approach him.

Her eye's widened when Sasuke bowed his head slightly with his ears tucked back. He was practically telling her to go ahead, that he didn't mind her petting him. When her hand finally touched his head she was actually surprised how soft his fur was. She gently began to stroke the top of his head, gaining confidence every second.

Sasuke closed his eyes and began to feel content. Mebuki tried her best to be a mother to him and he would forever be grateful to her. She would never replace his real mom but she came pretty close.

Sakura smiled as she watched Sasuke's tail begin to thump lazily on the ground. It made her so happy that her mother and Sasuke got along so well. She felt her dad's tense muscles slowly begin to relax. Looking up at his expression she could tell that he was a bit worried but it was far from the hate filled glares he used to give Sasuke.

Even after the evening didn't turn out as planned, both Sasuke and Sakura couldn't be happier.

* * *

Sasuke was currently sleeping shirtless in his bed, dead to the world. He vaguely heard the creak of his door opening but it wasn't enough to wake him. When another weight was added to his bed he finally began to stir. He blearily blinked his eyes open when he felt small hands running through his hair.

"Good morning." Sakura lay on her stomach next to him smiling brightly.

"Morning," Sasuke mumbled. Sakura pulled herself up and kissed him. She pulled away too quickly for his barely conscious mind to react. "What time is it?" Sakura went to bed sometime in the early morning when she started to struggle to keep her eyes open. At first she protested, saying that she wanted to spend the entire night with him. But Sasuke didn't mind. She finally gave in when he nearly dragged her into the house. He had stayed up a few hours more and crashed a little while before sunrise.

"It's almost one in the afternoon. I figure you must have had enough sleep by now." Sakura was beaming at him. She couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"Why are you so happy?" Sasuke asked. Sakura looked at him confused for a second before her smile came back full force.

"I'm just happy to see you." Her response made Sasuke smirk and pull her in for a kiss. He was actually able to enjoy this one now that he was awake.

_I love you_

Her words from the previous night ran through his head making him smile. He wrapped his arms tighter around her. He wouldn't mind waking up like this every morning.

Then suddenly the door burst open causing the two of them to jump apart. Sakura was blushing and Sasuke began to glare at the very noisy intruder.

"You're alive!" Naruto shouted from the door way, waving his arms wildly as he spoke.

"Don't you know how to knock? And of course I'm alive," Sasuke snarled. All he wanted was to spend his first waking moments in peace, but it seemed like that was a bit much to ask for.

Naruto finally seemed to take in the scene before him and paled slightly. His two best friends were awfully close, in a bed, with some lacking clothes. "You guys weren't about to do something nasty were you?"

"Get out!" Amazingly it was Sakura who shouted, with her face a brighter color than her hair. Naruto scampered out of there as quickly as he could. Sasuke groaned and rubbed his temples to calm the slowly approaching headache. He couldn't deal with Naruto so quickly after waking up.

Sakura gave him one last peck on the cheek before jumping off the bed and extended a hand out to him. "Everyone is worried about you though. I told them that you were alright, but it looks like Naruto wanted to see you in person." Naruto may irritate him majority of the time, but Sasuke had to admit that he was a great friend. If he had a choice he wouldn't trade Naruto for anyone. No matter how loud or invasive he is of Sasuke's personal space.

After Sasuke grabbed a shirt the two of them left to go find where Naruto had run off to. He hadn't made it very far. In fact, Naruto was waiting for them on the porch in the back of Sakura's house with Kakashi.

Sakura was raised her hand in greeting and was about to call out to their teacher when Naruto's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"They were totally about to have sex Kakashi-sensei."

Sasuke felt heat spread up his neck and onto his face. The sudden image of a naked Sakura pressing up against him with her hands wandering over his body only increased his blushing. While he stood there in shock, Sakura had closed the distance between her and Naruto in record time.

The fox boy had her fist buried in his gut before he had a chance to react and defend himself. Naruto's squeals of pain and Sakura's furious shouts made Kakashi snicker. In addition to their squabble, Sasuke's obvious embarrassment was also rather amusing.

Sasuke's blush began to fade as he watched his girlfriend throttle his best friend. It was rather fun to watch, no wonder Kakashi was laughing.

But Sasuke's mood was dragged down again when he saw the bandages that were wrapped around Kakashi's forearms. He could vaguely remember desperately trying to escape his teacher's hold when he was fighting with Takao. "Was that from me?" he asked, gesturing to Kakashi's arm.

Kakashi lifted an arm and glanced at the bandages. "These? Don't worry about it. It's just some small scratches." Sasuke could tell that it was a lie. The amount of bandages around his arm was too much for mere scratches.

"Sorry," Sasuke mumbled and looked away guiltily. Kakashi rested his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. It was unintentional and Sasuke wasn't being himself, there was nothing for him to blame Sasuke for.

"Sakura that's enough. We don't want to send Naruto to the hospital now do we?" Kakashi smiled, his eyes twinkling with mirth. Sakura was currently, holding Naruto by the front of his shirt and shaking him violently causing his head to flop back and forth in different directions.

"Fine," Sakura pouted and dropped Naruto unceremoniously. She turned her back on him and began to walk toward Sasuke and Kakashi. Naruto groaned and twitched, unable to stand back up.

"You're so mean Sakura," Naruto wheezed. Sakura immediately wheeled back around and began to lecture Naruto. She refrained from violence even if she really wanted to beat him some more.

Sasuke and Kakashi were both content to watch as Naruto cowered from Sakura's rage.

All the commotion drew Sakura's mom from the house. She smiled at the scene before her and greeted Naruto and Kakashi warmly, offering them something to drink and some snacks. Naruto instantly perked up and dashed into the house cheering, his injuries and bruises completely forgotten. Mebuki giggled at his childish efforts and followed him into the house. The remainder of them followed at a much slower calmer pace.

While Mebuki busied herself in feeding the bottomless pit that was Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke began to discuss the results from the previous night.

"How are you feeling?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke shrugged, "I'm fine. A little tired." He did feel a bit more tired than he normally would but he didn't really think much of it. Sakura stuck close to him, listening intently. She had been a bit distracted this morning and didn't get a chance to ask him about his wellbeing herself. She felt bad, like she had neglected him.

"Is that all?" Kakashi asked again. He wouldn't put it past Sasuke to lie about his health so that others wouldn't worry about him. When the only answer he got from Sasuke was a nod, Kakashi smiled at him. "Great! So I guess the now is the best time to tell you that you've been suspended for a week."

Sakura groaned but Sasuke didn't seem very affected. He didn't mind taking a week off of school. Kakashi continued in a happy tone, "And when you get back you have a few days of detention." Now Sasuke let out a depressed groan.

He was actually getting off with a rather light punishment. The last time he had gotten into a fight they warned him that the next squabble he got into would lead to his expulsion. Kakashi must have pulled a lot of strings for him.

"How's Takao doing?" Sakura asked. Just the mention of the other boy's name made Sasuke tense. He glared at the floor and forced down an angry growl that bubbled up in this throat. Sakura was a kind soul and sincerely cared about other people, it was no surprise that she was concerned about him too. If she was any other person, Sasuke wouldn't have really cared all that much. But hearing her worry about Takao just pissed him off.

How could she worry about some asshole like that? Didn't she remember how horribly he had treated her? How he picked on her? Just recalling the things he had said about her was making his blood boil.

"He's in the hospital. He's being seen for a broken nose and near alcohol poisoning. Because of his reckless actions he's been kicked off all the sports teams he was previously on." Sasuke smirked at hearing that. At least that bastard was getting what he deserved. All that stupid jock really cared about was his sports. But if Sasuke had a choice he would have gone back and broke more than just his nose.

"I told administration that Takao was drunk and he began to pick a fight with you. If you didn't defend yourself and tried subdue him then you would have gotten seriously hurt. They were still upset that you fought but since you were forced to defend yourself they had to suspend you. Breaking his nose was going a bit far but it was all self-defense, right?" Kakashi leaned forward and eyed Sasuke.

Judging from the twinkle in his teacher's eye, Sasuke knew that Kakashi was aware that he was the one to initiate the fight. But he had to play along to avoid getting into even more trouble.

"But did Takao see anything?" Sakura asked worriedly. "Sasuke's eyes were red and his fangs were showing by the time I got there. And I know that it must have been that way while they were fighting."

Sasuke froze. He had completely forgotten about that. If Takao saw all of that and told other people, it would be a huge problem for him.

"Don't worry," Kakashi waved away her fear with a few flicks of his wrist. "You aunt already seen to that. She went to check on her poor patient and asked him how he got into such a state and all he could tell her was that he was drunk and couldn't remember much from the dance at all."

Sasuke's shoulders sagged and he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. That was a huge relief.

Even after all the craziness it seemed like there was no real damage done. He felt Sakura discreetly slip her hand into his. Everything had worked out for the better.

* * *

The school was abuzz with rumors during the first day back. Luckily for Sasuke he was wasn't around to be asked thousands of questions. Instead he was making his way to visit Orochimaru at his lab. Since he had nothing better to do today he might as well pay the scientist a visit. He must be anxious to know how well his serum performed. Sure enough, Orochimaru was waiting excitedly for him. He was quickly ushered into Orochimaru's lab where he retold what had happened the night of the dance.

"Any lasting effects? How are you feeling right now?" Orochimaru was quickly jotting down notes at every word that Sasuke spoke.

Sasuke shrugged. He felt completely fine. "Besides a bit of fatigue when I took it not much changed."

"Explain to me what it felt like when you lost your temper and the serum stopped working," Orochimaru continued without missing a beat.

Sasuke frowned. He felt like he was having a session with a therapist. "I was mad. Then I kind of blanked out, I wasn't very aware of what was happening," Sasuke paused and tried to remember what exactly happened. "When I came to Kakashi was restraining me and I had beat that bastard to a pulp. After that everything hurt." Orochimaru looked up from his notes and frowned.

"Did you eventually transform after?" he asked. Sasuke nodded. "Was there any complications?"

Sasuke tried his best to describe the awful feeling that had overcome him that night. "The transformation was a lot slower than usual and it felt like my body was fighting with itself." It was complicated. But all Sasuke knew was that it hurt like hell and it was like no other transformation he had experienced before.

"It hurt because the serum was still in your body and it was trying to keep you from transforming, but the natural chemicals in your body was forcing the change. It was a good first attempt and we should be able to produce a more effective one rather soon," Orochimaru concluded after going over his notes again.

The rest of the visit went rather quickly. A few vials of blood were taken so that Orochimaru could test to make sure that there was no residue of the serum left over in his system. With a promise of a better serum Sasuke left in a rather good mood.

But part of him was torn. Sakura had told him that he loved him while he was a wolf, it didn't matter to her. It didn't matter if the serum worked or not. But the other part of him was set on using it. He wanted to be as human as he possibly could for her. He wanted to be able to be everything she needed.

The serum is still very new and it's no surprise that it's not perfect yet. After a few more attempts it should work flawlessly. There's no harm in trying right?

* * *

It was only the first day of his suspension and Sasuke was already bored. Sakura was going to bringing home his school work so at least he would have things to keep him occupied throughout the week. Visiting Orochimaru was the only thing he had planned for the day and it had ended much sooner than expected. Once he was finished with his examination Orochimaru practically threw him out. The scientist was very excited and wanted to start working on the next variation of the serum right away.

Sasuke still had a few more hours to burn before school got out so he decided to hang around town. As he wandered through the streets he glanced into shop windows without much real interest and observed other people that were meandering around. But even that got boring real fast. With a long drawn out sigh, Sasuke headed home.

When he entered the house he never expected Kizashi to be there. Sakura's father was sitting on the end of the couch with his eyes glued to the tv in front of him. Sasuke automatically assumed that everyone would be at work but then he never really payed attention to Kizashi's schedule before. The opening and closing of the front door drew Kizashi's attention away from the tv in front of him for a second. He acknowledged Sasuke with a slight incline of his head and went back to watching some sports announcements that were playing.

Sasuke paused for a moment and stood motionless behind the couch. He felt like he had made a huge improvement when Kizashi didn't seem very resistant when he had taken Sakura to the dance. Kizashi hadn't been thrilled but he had allowed it. But Sasuke knew that the older man still didn't like him very much.

Even if he and Kizashi had butted heads since they very instant they met, Sasuke wanted Kizashi to like him. Wasn't it normal to want to have your girlfriend's parent's approve of you? But Kizashi despised werewolves.

He had his chance during the night of the dance to show Kizashi that he could take care of Sakura and it ended up being the other way around. Sakura was the one to take care of him. He felt pathetic. If Orochimaru can produce a serum that worked them maybe he could pretend to be human. If he could pass for a normal human than just maybe Kizashi wouldn't hate him anymore.

Sasuke sat at the other end of the couch without a word. The sound from the tv fill the silence but the air was still heavy and awkward. After nearly 20 minutes of just sitting there Sasuke finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

Kizashi could barely hear him but he managed to catch what he had mumbled. "What?" He was confused. Sasuke's apology was so out of the blue. What was he apologizing for anyway?

Sasuke had never felt so uncomfortable in his life but he had to go through with this. "The other night. You entrusted Sakura to me and I fucked up." He had one shot. Kizashi had given him his trust, a rare opportunity, and he had fucked it all up because he lost his temper.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kizashi asked. His voice was stern as always but it held a hint of confusion.

Sasuke clenched his jaw. He felt bad enough as it was. He really didn't want to spell out his failures. "I lost my temper at the dance and it caused the serum to stop working. Instead of enjoying the dance, Sakura had to spend her time helping me when I was supposed to be the one to watch out for her. I'm sorry."

Silence fell between them again. Sasuke couldn't bear to look at Sakua's father. His mistake never seemed to weigh so heavily on him until this very moment.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Sakura seems perfectly happy to me."

Sasuke looked up started. That wasn't what he was expecting. Kizashi still had his eyes on the screen when he continue to explain. "She may have had to leave the dance early but I've never seen my girl happier than when she was with you. Even after walking out of the forest with you she had this huge smile on her face. That night wasn't you fault. You even went out of your way to try to do something unbelievable for her."

Sasuke couldn't believe it. Was Kizashi complimenting his actions? He wasn't disappointed in him?

Kizashi had to admit. This kid was willing to above and beyond for his daughter. What father doesn't want someone that dedicated to be doting on his only daughter? He may have not liked Sasuke at first but over the years he had proved time and time again that he was trust worthy. That like him, he had Sakura's best interest at heart.

"I couldn't ask you to do anything more for her except to keep doing what you've already been doing for years. Keep my daughter happy and keep her safe."

This was something he never expected. Sasuke was prepared for more rage and hatred, but Sakura's father had surprised him with encouragement and acceptance. "I will," Sasuke promised.

Kizashi finally looked at him with a frown in his face. "But don't expect me to pet you like my wife did. Crazy woman."

Sasuke couldn't help the smirk from spreading across his face. "Suit yourself. But according to Sakura, I'm pretty soft."

This had to be the first time Sasuke saw Kizashi smile and heard him chuckle.

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay again guys. :( I know what events I want to happen and in what order but I'm having difficulties linking them all together without it being choppy. Urg. Anyway hope you guys enjoyed reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sakura let out a deep sigh. School was extremely irritating. Actually, Sakura liked school, it was the other students that were beyond annoying. Because Sasuke nor Takao were around that left the student body to bother her for the details about what happened during the dance. Always hungry for gossip, they swarmed her relentlessly.

At first she simply told them that the two of them had gotten into a fight, but that wasn't enough for the rumor hungry kids. But there wasn't much more she could tell them, Sakura didn't actually know anything else. By the time she arrived the fight had been basically over. She knew that the two boys couldn't stand each other and it was almost inevitable that they would fight whenever they cross each other. The other students continued to pester her, forcing her to avoid crowds the rest of the day. It was a real hassle. Now she understood why Sasuke doesn't like people.

She was mentally exhausted and she just wanted a break. When she finally got home she stumbled upon a most unusual sight. Her dad and Sasuke were sitting on the couch watching TV together and sharing a bag of potato chips. The two of them always avoided each other, never wanting to be in the same room alone with the other. But now they were sitting there with seemingly no tension between them. What alternate dimension had she fallen into?

"How was school?" Her dad asked, snapping her out of her stupor. Neither Sasuke nor Kizashi's eyes left the TV s they didn't see Sakura floundering around comically. She had been too busy staring and didn't realize that they had noticed her arrival.

"Um, okay I guess. I brought back a bunch of school work for Sasuke though." Sasuke groaned and slumped further into the couch. He reached for another potato chip only to have the bag snatched away by Kizashi.

"Get to work," Kizashi said before popping another chip into his mouth. He placed the bag in his lap, out of reach of Sasuke.

"I can do it tomorrow," Sasuke complained.

"Then you'll have tomorrows work to do on top of that. Now get outta here." Kizashi made a shooing motion with his hand and continued to munch on potato chips. Knowing he had been dismissed, Sasuke glared at him and walked toward Sakura. He picked Sakura's bag off her shoulder and headed for the door. Sakua was still slightly dazed and slowly followed him.

"What was that?!" Sakura exclaimed when they reached the solitude of Sasuke's room? Sasuke looked at her a bit confused and placed her school bag next to his desk. It was a bit heavier than he had anticipated, they must have really given him a lot of work.

"What?"

"You and my dad. You were acting like you guys were old buddies. When did that happen?" Sakura gaped at him, still struggling to wrap her mind around what she just witnessed.

Sasuke shrugged, "Just now I guess."

"How'd you do that?"

Sasuke lay on his bed with his hands behind his head and smirked at her. "We just came to an agreement."

Now Sakura was even more confused. She sat on the edge of the bed and cocked her head at Sasuke. "About what?"

"We have the same top priority. We both agreed that your safety and happiness is most important," Sasuke said. He tried to smother the blush that was dusting his cheeks. Actually voicing this was much more embarrassing than he originally thought.

Sakura stared at him wide eyed for a few seconds before a warm smile replaced her blank expression. She moved closer to Sasuke and snuggled close to him. Sasuke wasted no time wrapping his arms around her. "I'm so glad that you guys are finally starting to get along," she said. Her voice was slightly muffled as she buried her face in his chest.

Sasuke smiled at her and kissed the top of her head. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was glad that Kizashi were on much better terms now.

Sakura looked up at began to run her hands through his hair. "Good boy," she smiled. Sasuke frowned at her making her laugh. He wasn't too upset, he was sort of used to dog jokes and her petting him made it all worth it.

* * *

The week was passing so slowly for Sasuke. He had thought that a week of no school would be great but he now he was downright bored. Not to mention his teachers seemed to get a kick of sending him mountains of homework to complete. Most of his free time was spend pouring over notes that his friends had taken for him while they were in class. Unfortunately, Naruto was a horrible student.

It was already rather late into the evening and Sasuke was getting frustrated. The only one of their little group of friends that had the same chemistry class as him was Naruto. As if this wasn't confusing enough already.

"Fuck! This makes no sense. You can even see where he fell asleep and drooled on the paper," Sasuke raged. He ran his hand through his hair aggregately and growled in frustration. From all the work that was being sent home this was the only class that he was struggling with. Naruto's lack of sensible notes only made it that much harder. "Let me see yours," he asked Sakura for her own pages of notes.

Sakura had been laying on his bed while reading a book. While Sasuke was suspended they had started doing their homework together, but with Sasuke's work load so much larger than hers she finished her things a long time ago. She didn't even bother looking up from her book when she responded.

"I can't do that. We're going over something different in our class," Sakura brushed him off. Because their school was rather large they had multiple teachers covering core areas of study such as science and math.

"Can you help me then? Look at this stupid shit!" Sasuke waved Naruto's notes through the air before letting them flutter to the floor. He rubbed his temples to try to quell the growing headache.

Sakura giggled as she watched Sasuke throw his little temper tantrum. She shut her book and moved over to his desk, picking up the fallen notes along the way. Her jaw dropped when she finally saw what Sasuke had to work with. There was an off colored spot that indicated where Naruto had drooled that Sasuke had mentioned. But along with that there were crude cartoon drawings of their teacher and scribbles that she assumed was Naruto's illegible attempt at note taking.

"Wow. This is actually a lot worse than I thought it was going to be." Sakura was shocked. How in the world was Naruto passing? "But this is your punishment for getting into that fight." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and peaked at his work. Sasuke actually wasn't doing too badly, he had finished all the work from his other classes rather quickly and he managed to complete half of his chemistry homework just by flipping through the textbook.

Sasuke scowled, his mood turning even sourer. "He deserved it," he growled.

"I know you don't like each other but what happened to make you so upset? You normally get over these fights pretty quick," Sakura asked.

Sasuke remained silent. How much should he actually tell her? Takao was a disgusting pig. Just remembering what he said was making his blood boil.

"If this is an ego or pride thing let it go. He can talk all the shit he wants, don't let it get to you," Sakura said.

"He wasn't talking about me," Sasuke bit his lip. "He was talking about you."

That caught Sakura off guard. "About me?" Why would he be talking about her? They rarely had any contact after he stopped picking on her when they were kids.

"He was saying these really lewd things about you, and how he wanted to have sex with you," Sasuke struggled to keep his voice stable as he tried explain what kind of a disgusting human being Takao was. He refused to describe the details that Takao had told him.

Sakura was shocked. That was the last thing she expected. She knew Takao slept around but for him to think that way of her was absurd.

"Thinking of you with him. I just lost it," Sasuke growled. "Imagining what he was saying, just made me so angry." He had his fists clenched so tightly that they began to shake.

Sakura pushed his chair back and climbed onto his lap, surprising him. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly. "You're silly." She put a finger to his lips to stop the protests she knew was on the tip of his tongue. "He was probably saying those things to get you riled up and it worked. But you don't need to worry. I may be a part of Takao's dirty little fantasies but he has nothing to do with that I want."

She leaned in and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you. Takao can think about whatever he wants. But the only one I would ever want is you. Not Takao, or anyone else."

All the rage and animosity Sasuke could feel building up disappeared. She was right. That asshole could dream all he wanted. He was the one that had Sakura's affection and her love. And that's how it should be.

Their kissing started off innocent at first, but quickly became more heated. Soft kisses turned into wrestling tongues and wandering hands. Sakura's hands uncoiled from around Sasuke's neck to move under his shirt to press against his chest. She ran her hands over his chest and stomach, tracing his muscles as they twitched beneath her hands. Sasuke's hands began to mirror her own, moving up and down her body from her back to her thighs.

Sakura started to squirm slightly on his lap, feeling his hardness pressing against her. Feeling him against her made a blush blossom across her face. She felt her own body responding to his as her heart began to pound and her body started to feel warm in all the right places.

Sasuke grunted and grasped her hips, pressing her harder against him. They broke their lip lock in order to catch their breath. Sasuke smirked lightly at the blush that covered Sakura's face. He pressed his face into her neck and inhaled her intoxicating scent. Sakura couldn't stop a whimper from escaping her lips when Sasuke's tongue darted out to lick her neck as he began to rock against her. She felt like she was going to implode. Sakura grasped his shirt tightly and pressed herself closer to him, if that was possible.

Sasuke left her neck to find her lips again. Their kissing was even more fervent than before. Sakura wound her hands through his hair and began to tug on his dark locks while she nibbled on his lip. He growled loudly when she bit down on his lip a little harder than necessary, making her pull back slightly. Sakura leaned back to put some distance between them. She watched, fascinated, as his red eyes faded back to their normal color. That was the first time that she saw him with red eyes when he wasn't upset. She watched as Sasuke took deep shuddering breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, his voice came out a bit husky and scratchy. He was confused as to why she suddenly pulled away. He was being more aggressive than he had been in the past, did that make her nervous? He wanted her, more than ever before. But maybe she wasn't ready. He wasn't about to force her into something that she didn't want to do.

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura asked. She couldn't deny that she wanted him as well. All their past endeavors had left her wanting more, much more.

"Aren't I the one that's supposed to be asking you that?" Sasuke chuckled. Wasn't it the guy that was supposed to ask the girl if she was ready? They were the ones that would be physically changed after all. But Sakura didn't find this funny. In any other case what he said would be true. But not with them.

"If we do this, doesn't that mean you would be taking me as your…mate?" Sakura struggled with the last bit. The word 'mate' seemed so wild, savage, and feral. But then again, wasn't that what Sasuke was? "Werewolves only ever have one partner right? If we go through with this, doesn't that mean that you won't ever be able to be with another woman?

Sasuke smiled at her and pulled her in again for a small loving kiss. "You make it sound like being bound to you forever is a bad thing," he murmured against her lips. Sakura jumped, completely thrown off by what he said. "I can't imagine ever choosing anyone else other than you. You were there for me when no one else was. You didn't fear me and you stood beside me my whole life. I don't know what would have happened if I had stumbled upon someone else, but maybe I was destined to find you." Sakura looked at him astonished. She couldn't believe the things he was saying. "I want you to be mine forever, if you would have me," he continued. He leaned down to nuzzle her neck.

Sakura was always the only option for him. No one else could even come close in his eyes. But he was scared. Mating for him meant binding to her for eternity, an unreasonable commitment for normal people her age.

Sakura stood up and pulled away, leaving a confused Sasuke to watch her take a few steps away from him. "But it's not the same," Sakura said. Sasuke didn't understand. She had sounded so sad when she said that. Sakura couldn't look at him when she continued to speak, "Humans aren't like that. We don't form unexplainable unbreakable bonds with the one we love. I can't give you anything other than my word that I'll be with you forever." To Sakura, Sasuke was taking a huge risk. By mating with her, he would be the only one truly tied. His declaration of commitment was so much larger and meaningful than anything she could ever give him. Humans are finicky creatures. They love so strongly lone moment then leave and choose someone new the next. The only thing she could do for him was give him a verbal promise that he would be the only one for her. That was all. Even marriage wasn't even close to what Sasuke was offering her. Marriage was only more promises that were written on a piece of paper. It hurt her that there was nothing more she could offer him.

Sasuke walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing his chest against her back and rested his head on her shoulder. "Do you not want to be with me? I can understand if you don't." Sakura deserved the best. He could tell she was going to get far in life. And he was just a monster, a wolf. Why would she settle for the stray that she picked up as a child? He would respect her wishes if that's what she wanted. He hugged her tighter. Even if he didn't want to. The thought of her rejecting him created a terrible ache in his chest.

His voice sounded so small and scared. In all her years of knowing him, Sakura had never heard him sound like that. Sakura loosened his arms enough for her to turn around to face him. She looked into his eyes and saw fear, uncertainty, but the most prominent of all was love. She didn't need him to say it to know how he felt. Sakura kissed him on the cheek. "Of course I want you."

Sasuke smiled at her, all the nervousness seemed to instantly evaporate. "Then that's good enough for me." He pressed his lips onto hers and pulled her tightly against him. They loved one another so strongly that it didn't matter how different they were.

He had never actually said the words 'I love you' to her but that just wasn't his style. Sasuke wasn't one for romance and lovey dovey words, but he showed her in other ways how strongly he felt about her.

Hands roamed and kisses were shared as they made their way to the bed, only pausing to flick off the room light. Sakura didn't even have time to protest when she was pushed onto the bed before Sasuke was on top of her. His hands traveled beneath her clothes leaving fire in their wake. Sakura gasped as Sasuke caressed parts of her body that had never been explored before. His touch sent sparks of pleasure shooting throughout her body.

Breaking their lip lock she nipped and licked at his throat making him growl and grasp her roughly. Sasuke allowed her to ravish his neck while traitorous growls bubbled up from his throat. He pressed hard against her showing her his desire for her and moaned loudly and she rubbed her body against his in response.

Her shirt came off first. She gasped when his hands slid over her chest and stomach. Soft moans escaped her throat when he grasped at her breasts and nipped at them with sharp teeth.

Sasuke lost himself in her body. Her scent, the softness of her skin, and the breathiness of her voice had him mesmerized. He buried his face into the side of her neck and growled softly. While he nuzzled her, his hand moved from her side to below her last articles of her clothes. He smirked when she bucked against him and let out a startled gasp. She didn't' remain passive long and immediately started tugging on his clothes.

Knowing exactly what she wanted, Sasuke pulled away for a second to remove his shirt. When he returned her hands roamed across his chest and shoulders, feeling the muscles rippling beneath his skin. Her touch sent jolts of pleasure straight to his gut and lower.

Soon clothes where quickly shed and flesh meshed against flesh.

Sakura let out a loud gasp when Sasuke finally entered her. It hurt more than she thought but it also made her feel full, complete. Her nails bit into Sasuke's back as she grasped his shoulders leaving red indentations in his skin, but Sasuke didn't even seem to notice. Sasuke was panting heavily through gritted teeth, sweat beginning to speckle across his body. He moved slowly and stiffly his head bowed. Sakura began to gasp when the pain began to fade and pleasure flooded up to take its place.

Sasuke grunted as he began to move a bit faster but still very gently and Sakura could feel the stiffness of his body. It was as if his muscles were coiled to tightly. Like he was about to snap.

"S-sasuke," she gasped, "Stop." With another groan and a shudder the body above her came to a stop. She watched as his shoulders heaved. He was much too worked up, they hadn't even been at it that long for him to be this way.

Sakura let out a small knowing smile and reached for his face. She pulled his head up from its bowed position. His eyes where clenched tight and his eye brows were furrowed. Sakura placed butterfly kisses all over his face.

"It's okay Sasuke," she whispered. Sasuke shook his head and pressed his lips tightly together. "I'm not afraid. I know you won't hurt me." She could feel the tension slowly begin to leave his body. "It's okay," she repeated.

When Sasuke opened his eyes they were bright red. His eyes practically glowed in the dim lighting. Sasuke opened his mouth to reveal elongated canines. A low rumbling growl thundered from his chest.

"I love you," Sakura smiled at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. This time when they began to move it was like a whole new experience.

Sakura gasped and moaned as Sasuke moved fluidly above her. His hands grasped at her breasts and thighs roughly sending more fire spreading through her body.

Sasuke moved to her neck and started to suck and nibble on her throat. Another growl rumbled up from his chest when another waved of pleasure struck him hard. At first he was afraid to show Sakura this side of him. The deep primal part that wanted to mark her, claim her as his own. He had tried to hide it from her but she seemed to know. And she wasn't afraid. She embraced him with open arms and allowed him to mark her body as his.

He loved the way her body writhed against his, the way she caressed him. Her gasps and whimpers stirred him on. She returned his nips and nibbles sending pleasure shooting straight to his very core. He was unable to process words and matched her moans with low growls and snarls.

He stopped holding back and began to move more vigorously above her. He was encouraged by her pleasured gasps and legs that clung to him trying to bring him in deeper. Flesh met flesh over and over again as ecstasy rose to new highs.

Sakura cried out his name as the world came crashing down around her. Her fingernails bit into the skin of his biceps creating small welts. She let out a pained gasp when she felt his fangs sink deep into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Within seconds of the bite, she felt Sasuke stiffen and a new warmth flood her system.

They lay there panting both trying to collect themselves after their earth shattering experience. Sakura brought a shaky hand up and ran it through his damp hair. She winced when Sasuke retracted himself from her.

Sasuke lay next to her and busied himself with licking the bleeding bite mark on her neck. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him, pressing their bodies together. The bite stung, but Sasuke's licking soothed the pain slightly.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," Sasuke mumbled between licks. "Does it hurt?"

Sakura sighed happily and kissed Sasuke's forehead. "Don't be, it's fine." Sakura didn't voice it but she would have been more surprised if he hadn't bitten her at some point. It just seemed to come with the territory. It hurt but it didn't bother her at all. It made her feel complete somehow.

They were now tied together. Sakura paused mid thought. No that wasn't it. When she thought the word tied she thought of string. String was weak, flimsy, and frayed over time.

Chained

Perhaps that was a better word. Their souls permanently bound together by iron shackles. Forever.

Forever with Sasuke. She could live with that. She looked forward to it.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked. He had stopped licking her wound now that the bleeding had slowed significantly. That felt amazing. Holding her like this, claiming her, he had never felt so content. He had tried to be as careful as he could with her but the biting was something he couldn't stop. It had happened before he was even aware of what he was doing.

Sakura giggled. "I'm not made of glass. I'm fine. In fact I'm better than fine." She kissed him on the nose then nuzzled his neck. There was a slight pain of course but that was nothing compared to the happiness she was currently feeling. "Next time you don't have to be so cautious."

Sasuke smirked at her. "Already thinking of a next time." Sakura blushed and buried her face into his neck to try to hide her embarrassment. She could hear him chuckling and feel his chest rumble. It was such a rare occasion for him to laugh, it made her happy that he was happy. Even if he was teasing her.

"Aren't you?" she questioned quietly. Her voice was slightly muffled from being pressed so close to him.

"Let's just focusing on enjoying this time," he smiled at her. Of course he was thinking of a next time. He was a guy. But he was also loving the after-sex cuddling. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone. He pressed his face into her hair in inhaled her warm scent.

"Okay." Sakura was more than happy to lay in his arms. They cuddled well into the night and shared a few more passionate kisses. Ever since they were children they felt like there was a special bond between them. Over time that bond grew and flourished into their current relationship. It didn't matter to them that they were different. It didn't matter what other people would think. To them, it was perfect.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next unfortunately. I just received a commission for some clay miniatures and since the commissioner is going to pay me those have top priority. But I'll still be working on this story just much slower until I get all my work done. Thanks for your patience and understanding.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Wow one month. I'm horrible, sorry for the long wait. I'm actually still not done with that commission but I had some down time while I had to wait for an order of more supplies. **

**Chapter 16**

The next few days had been absolute bliss for Sakura. She would come home from either school or the hospital and have Sasuke waiting patiently for her. The would then finish up whatever school work the two of them had then spend the rest of the night cuddling and other unmentionable things. She giggled at the very thought of them together.

Sasuke was being amazingly touchy feely for the past few days. He was taking any opportunity he could to hold her. He seemed to pay special attention to her neck. Whenever he got the chance he would bury his face in her neck and nuzzle her. Occasionally he would start giving her soft licks that would make her blush immensely before she would brush him off. She secretly enjoyed all the attention but it still embarrassed her.

It was finally nearing the end of Sasuke's suspension and he was almost anxious to go back to school. He never thought he would be excited about school but he was tired of laying around all day. The best part of his day was when Sakura would come home. Other than waiting he had really nothing much to do during the day.

It was the last night before Sasuke was allowed to go back to school. It seemed that the teachers had started to feel bad for the immense work load hey had given him earlier in the week and gave him much less homework if any at all for his last day of suspension. He had managed to finish everything up within an hour while Sakura was stuck studying for an upcoming test.

Since Sakura had the most things to do they decided to study in her room rather than Sasuke's like they had been previously. Sakura massaged her temples in frustration. She was struggling a bit with this section and was having problems concentrating. She narrowed her eyes and tried to focus on the words in front of her with great difficulty. Before she could get very far, she felt a slight tingling in the back of her neck. When the tingling started she tried her best to ignore it. But the tingling soon turned into a shiver than ran up and down her spine. Unable to take it anymore she whirled around.

"Stop it! Your staring is staring to freak me out." Sakura shouted.

Sasuke was lying on his stomach in the middle of her bed, staring intently at her with red eyes. For whatever reason he was letting his tail flow freely. She wasn't complaining she thought it was cute as she watched it flick back and forth in the air. But it also meant that the bastard was amused.

She glared at him and he smirked in return. "I'm trying to concentrate and you're not helping," she frowned.

"Come here," Sasuke continued to smirk.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you can't concentrate then come here and take a break." He rolled over and patted the spot next to him. She knew why he was acting this way. Her parents had gone out to dinner with some of their friends and weren't expected to come home for a while. She never thought she would be in the situation where she was sneaking around her parents with her promiscuous boyfriend.

After one last sad look at the papers in front of her she sighed and gave up. Sakura slid into bed beside him and sighed contently when she wrapped her arms around him. Sasuke returned her embrace and rolled onto his back so that she was now laying on top of him. She let out a squeak, startled by the sudden movement. He chuckled at her and kissed her chin, making her smile. At first their touches and kisses started out loving and innocent but quickly got out of hand.

Sakura sighed happily as she lay under the covers with a naked Sasuke snuggled up behind her. She only left the safety of the covers to throw on her discarded shirt and to grab the notes she had been going over. Even in her own room she felt too embarrassed to lay around without some sort of cover.

When she returned, Sasuke threw and arm around her and pulled her flush against his body. They seemed to be going through a honeymoon like phase. Blissfully happy and completely engrossed in one another. They had slept together a few more times over the course of the week. During their second time together he had bitten her again, although not as hard as the first time. Any time after that, Sasuke might nip at it but never broke skin. He would occasionally finger the bite mark on her neck. It was scabbing over but the skin around it was still a bit red.

Sakura was curious about it since Sasuke seemed fascinated with it. "Why did you do that?" she asked. Sasuke looked away from her healing skin and cocked his head at her. "The bite? You seem obsessed with it. Always touching it and stuff. Is it supposed to mean something?"

"It does," Sasuke paused as he struggled to think of the right words to describe his mark on her. "It shows that we're mated. Kind of like a wedding ring." His comment made Sakura blush slightly. Technically in Sasuke's world they were already married.

"Does that bother you?" he asked. It was unrealistically early in their relationship to even be considering marriage. But he didn't mind.

"Not at all." She rolled over and kissed him lightly. He smiled at her and returned her kiss.

They were so preoccupied that they almost missed the sound of the front door slamming open. Loud laughter echoed through the house making the two of them jump. Her parents were home. Sakura started to panic. She bolted out of bed and swiftly ran around the room collecting their fallen articles of clothing. After pulling on her shorts, she tossed Sasuke's clothing to him. But instead of getting dressed, Sasuke shoved his clothes under her bed.

"What are you doing!?" Sakura whispered harshly. Sasuke transformed only a moment before Sakura's room door burst open.

"Sakuraaaaaa!" Sakura's mom twirled into the room. Sakura stepped up to her mom and barley caught her before she slumped over. "I love you," she giggled.

"Love you too mom," Sakura laughed. Her mom was a real lightweight as well as an affectionate drunk.

"Aww Sasuke's here too!" Mebuki plopped down onto the bed and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck. Not expecting anything like that, Sasuke jumped and his fur stood on end. Even Sakura's eyes widened as she watched her mom laugh and hug Sasuke.

Sasuke cast frantic eyes toward Sakura, begging her for help. Her mom was aggressively petting him now, running her hand from the top of his head to his mid back.

A very poorly concealed snicker drew Sakura's attention back to her open door. Her aunt was standing there with a face equally as red as her mother's, laughing at the scene in front of her. That explained why her mother had been drinking. It's not as fun to drink alone and Tsunade was a great drinking buddy. Her father was next to appear in her quickly filling room. He appeared to be sober and was probably the designated driver for the two intoxicated ladies.

"Let the poor boy go. It looks like he's about to have a panic attack," he scolded his wife. Mebuki giggled like a school girl and patted Sasuke on the head one more time before wobbling over to her husband.

"You're such a grouch," Tsunade slurred. Kizashi was unable to retort due to the sudden weight of his wife now hanging around his neck. He dropped his cane and grabbed Mebuki to steady her and nearly toppled over himself.

Sakura scooped her dad's cane up off the ground and Tsunade pulled Mebuki off Kizashi and wrapped her arm around her for stability. Together the two women wobbled off to her parent's room. She handed her dad his cane and gave him a hug and a good nigh kiss on the cheek. Kizashi took the cane and smiled warmly at his daughter before turning to look at Sasuke who was still lying on the bed.

"I don't want your hair all over the house," he complained with slightly narrowed eyes. He was still rather confused to see Sasuke lying around the house in that form. He left right after that, probably to check on his wife and Tsunade.

Sasuke glared at Kizashi until he disappeared out of sight. Just to spite Kizashi, Sasuke flipped over onto his back and began to rub himself on Sakura's bed. Some of his fur began to rub off and stick to her bed, blanket, and pretty much everything within floating distance.

Sakura laughed before giving him a light slap on the side. "I'm going to have to vacuum my room now." Her slap made him stop wiggling and flip back over. He shook his head and she could see a poof of hair fall from his head and onto her pillows. "You're helping me clean the house tomorrow," she said and kissed the tip of his nose.

Sasuke huffed at her and looked away grumpily. But his thumping tail gave away that he wasn't very upset. Sakura just couldn't stop smiling. She was sure that no one else noticed that her dad had called Sasuke 'boy' and not 'mutt'.

* * *

Upon Sasuke's return to school he was immediately pounced on by Naruto. "I missed you! I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," Naruto said. He hugged Sasuke tightly and nuzzled the side of his face. Sasuke wasn't expecting the sudden attack and was forced to endure Naruto's affection.

"Get off me," Sasuke growled. He tried to pry the other boy's hands off with little success.

"But you've been gone so long. I've been lonely without you," Naruto whined. The rest of their friends were very amused my Sasuke's predicament. They were all glad that he was back but no one was more excited than Naruto.

Sakura laughed along with the others as she watched Naruto and Sasuke argue. She was lucky that they were providing such a good distraction for her. She had taken to wearing a bandage over Sasuke's bite until it healed more. The first day wearing it Ino had given her a hard time about it, convinced that she was trying to hide a hickey. Which was actually pretty close to what she was doing. Sakura told her, and any other curious person, that it was an annoying bug bit that had gotten infected after scratching at it.

At the mention of puss, Ino instantly retreated and left her alone after that. But it had already been a few days since then and if it was an insect bite like Sakura claimed it should have been mostly healed up by now. But with Naruto and Sasuke's loud arguing no one seemed to notice that she was still wearing a bandage.

Luckily for Sasuke, classes were to start soon so he only had to hold off for a few more minutes before they were forced to go to their own respective classes. He never had been happier to hear the warning bell in his entire life. While Sakura and his other friends gathered their things and headed to class, Naruto hadn't moved a muscle.

"We're going to be late. And I don't want to be suspended again," Sasuke grumbled. Suddenly Naruto released him and stood before him with his arms crossed. Naruto's happy demeanor vanished and was replaced with a hardened glare.

"Okay now that everyone's gone you better talk." It was rare that Sasuke heard Naruto speak in such a firm tone. "What have you done to Sakura?"

What?

"Nothing. What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked. What was Naruto going on about?

"Don't play stupid with me. Sakura has this lingering scent about her and it smells exactly like you." Naruto pointed directly in Sasuke's face.

Of course. It was very feint so the only person who would notice was Naruto. No one else had a strong enough sense of smell. It was normal for Sakura to smell like him for the next few days. But he wasn't about to go into what went down between him and Sakura with Naruto.

"Tell me!"

"No. It's none of your business." Sasuke turned around and headed toward the school but Naruto wasn't about to let him off that easily. He grabbed Sasuke's arm and stopped him before he could escape.

Fully expecting to get yelled at some more, Naruto's creepy grin completely caught him off guard. "I've bet you've been doing something dirty with her."

Oh god. He didn't know what was worse; getting interrogated or having Naruto tease him. Sasuke could feel his face and the back of his neck heating up in embarrassment.

"You did!" Naruto yelled. "Look your blushing."

"Shut up!" Sasuke wasn't going to stick around and get put through this torture. He picked up the pace and sped walked to the nearest school building.

"Get back here Sasuke! Tell me everything!"

"Fuck off!"

* * *

Sakura watched in amusement while Sasuke was getting hounded my Naruto all day. Wherever Sasuke went Naruto seemed to pop up. She could tell that Sasuke was very flustered by the way he was constantly trying to escape.

She had already told him the night before that she was going to be heading straight to the hospital after school, and unfortunately for him that meant catching a ride home with Naruto. She could hear them arguing across the parking lot after school had finally gotten out.

"I said I'll just walk!"

"Get over here damn it! I told Sakura that I would take you home so that's what I'm gonna do!"

Their yelling was starting to attract a crowd. Curious onlookers watched as Naruto latched onto Sasuke's arm and tried to drag him toward his car. Sakura laughed and jumped in her own car, making sure to drive past them as she headed toward the exit of the parking lot.

"Just get in. We still have more catching up to do you antisocial bastard," Naruto yelled. He had somehow managed to get his passenger side door open but was still struggling playing tug of war with Sasuke.

"I've seen enough of you to last me the week," Sasuke growled. If there wasn't so much people around he would have bitten Naruto a long time ago.

"Yeah right! You've been avoiding me all day. Some friend you are!"

Sakura rolled down her window as she passed by. "Thanks for taking care of him for me Naruto." She waved at her two favorite boys. Naruto yelled goodbye and smiled back at her and Sasuke glared. She stuck her tongue out at Sasuke as she rolled her window back up. Naruto would definitely keep Sasuke busy while she was at the hospital.

Upon arrival at the hospital she changed out of her school clothes and went in search of her aunt. It wasn't a complete surprise to find Tsunade asleep at her desk. It always amazed her how Tsunade could slack off so much and still be known as such a successful doctor.

After waking up a slightly grumpy Tsunade, Sakura went off to do the afternoon checks on the patients. She was only able to work with the patients that were already mostly recovered and were just awaiting discharge. Most of the things she did involved checking vitals and changing bandages. Of course she needed Tsunade's supervision if she wanted to be able to work with the patients at all. If it was up to Tsunade she would just let Sakura have free reign of the hospital. She felt that her niece was more competent that some of her workers.

Sakura truly loved working in the hospital. Before she knew it, it was already time to start heading home. She was back in Tsunade's office going over a few charts with her aunt looking over her shoulder.

"Okay that's all of it," Sakura smiled. She gathered all her charts and placed them neatly on Tsuande's desk. Tsunade nodded silently and watched as Sakura went around the room to grab her bag. "I'll see you later." Sakura waved and got ready to leave.

"Hold on a sec," Tsunade spoke up just as Sakura put her hand on the door knob. Before Sakura could even turn around to acknowledge her aunt she felt the bandage get ripped from her neck.

She covered her neck with her hand and spun around to look at her aunt. Tsunade held the bandage between her fingers and raised an eyebrow at her niece. Sakura blushed under her scrutiny and began to flounder, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Tsunade obviously was waiting for an explanation but Sakura didn't know what to say.

Tsunade was a doctor, there was no way in hell that her infected bug bite would work on her. Before Sakura could come up with an excuse Tsunade spoke up. "Do your parents know that you're sleeping with Sasuke?"

Sakura's jaw dropped. How did she know? Tsunade had been studying a variety of supernatural creatures for years was it possible that she recognized the mark? Did she know the meaning?

"How did you-"

"Oh please. It's obviously a mating mark. I saw it the other night after your parents and I had dinner." Tsunade threw the bandage in the trash and sat down at her desk. She motioned for Sakura to take the other vacant seat in the room. Still in shock, Sakura followed her instructions without fuss.

"How do you know what this is? I know you've studied werewolves but this isn't something that would come up while examining bodies," Sakura questioned. You could learn a lot about a species by studying its biological features, but the mark was a social thing. The only way she could know about it was if she asked another werewolf or observed the mark being placed, which she highly doubted her aunt did either.

Tsunade gave her a small smile and leaned back into her chair. After hesitating for a second, she pushed back her blond hair and turned her face to the side. Sakura stood up so fast she nearly knocked over the chair. Her jaw dropped as she leaned in closer to confirm what she thought she was witnessing.

It was faint, but it was there.

On the side of Tsunade's neck was a scar that was nearly identical to the Sakura's own bite.

Tsunade snickered at Sakura's expression. "I know from firsthand experience."

"How? What? Who?" There was so many questions bouncing around Sakura's mind that she couldn't form sentences longer than that.

"Slow down." Tsunade raised a hand to try to calm her panicking niece. "Hope you're ready for a long story." Sakura clamped her jaw shut and sat back in the chair obediently.

* * *

_It was years ago when it happened. Tsunade was stationed in a neighboring country where there had been countless sightings of a menagerie of different creatures. Tsunade and a few others from her unit were sent over to help. The association in that area had been far outnumbered._

_Besides just being there as a hired gun, Tsunade was also very curious about the different monsters that were attacking. Shades, vampires, demons, trolls, and countless more had been sighted in the area. This was her chance to learn as much as she could about them. By studying them she could determine their weaknesses which could lead to safer more efficient ways of irradiation and possibly even avoiding death all together. But her theories were ridiculed by the other hunters. Why learn about so many different monsters when they could all be eliminated by a bullet or two?_

_After being fed up by having her ideas shot down again, Tsunade left headquarters and wandered the streets. She had a hard glare plastered on her face as she tromped threw town which kept other people away. She was so upset by how shortsighted her comrades were. Blinded by her rage she failed to notice where her feet were taking her._

"_It's a bit late to be out all by yourself."_

_Tsunade jumped, the voice startling her. She had wondered into a park that was deserted besides the three gangly men that stood before her._

"_Such a pretty young thing. How delicious." The men sneered at her revealing long fangs. Tsunade cursed her luck, running into three vampires on her own wasn't on the list of smart things to do. She reached toward her hip to realize that she had left most of her weapons behind. Luckily she still had her knife on her. _

_The first vampire lunged at her with fangs and claws bared. Tsunade quickly drew her knife and slashed at her attacker. The blade caught the vampires' outstretched hand, slicing open skin and spilling dark colored blood. _

_The injured vampire hissed and drew back. It clutched its bleeding hand towards its chest and snarled at her. The two remaining vampires tried to attack her from both sides. She ducked under reaching claws and struck out with her knife spilling more blood._

_No longer amused the vampires growled angrily at her and attacked again. Surrounded, there wasn't much Tsunade could do. The blade of her knife glinted in the light but her attackers were persistent. She cried out in pain when she felt claws tare into her side. _

_The smell of her blood sent them into a frenzy. Their attacks became more viscous forcing Tsunade to try to flee. After connecting a solid punch to one of their noses she turned around and sprinted away as fast as she could. She reached the edge of the park and made it to the sidewalk before they caught up. She was fast but there was no way that she could outrun a vampire, much less a group of them._

_Tsunade stumbled and fell forward into the concrete as one of the vampires pressed down upon her. "You've put up quite an entertaining fight but the funs about to end," one of the monsters hissed into her ear. She was laying on her stomach with one of the vampires held her down. If she were to die here she would go down fighting. _

_She still had the knife firmly in her hand and swung it backwards with as much force as she could in such an awkward position. The knife sunk into the vampires' side with a sickening squelch. The monster pinning her down let out a pained shriek. Tsunade didn't have a chance to revel in her small victory before the monster retaliated._

_Extremely pissed, the vampire slammed his fist down into the back of her head. The force of the blow caused her head to slam against the pavement._

_Tsunade saw a number of flashing stars shoot across her vision as he mind swam. She felt her consciousness fading in and out as she tried to stay awake. Passing out now meant certain death, but her head couldn't stop spinning. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get up, she could barely focus._

_She could hear the vampires' laughter around her and a slight pounding in her head. The pounding was getting louder and louder and now it didn't seem to be coming from inside her head. The vampires' laughs turned into scared and angry screeches of rage._

_A loud growl drowned out the hisses from the vampires. Tsunade forced herself to raise her head. She could taste blood in her mouth. She tried to focus on what was happening in front of her but was struggling to see. Her vision was blurred. If she tried hard enough her vision would clear for a second before blurring again. The simple act of trying to see made her head pound._

_She could make out four shapes in front of her. One stood out much more than the others. The huge silver blur stood out like a beacon in the dark. Her frazzled mind couldn't keep up with the fight occurring only a few feet in front of her. One by one the smaller figures fell and didn't move until only the sliver one remained. _

_Dead. The vampires were dead. She had lucked out and something else had come along and killed them. But now that thing was heading towards her. Tsunade tried to force herself up to at least try to escape but her body wasn't cooperating._

_Now that thing was directly in front of her. She looked up into deep golden eyes of a huge silver wolf. They seemed to stare into her very soul before Tsunade slumped back down finally losing consciousness._

_Tsunade didn't know how long she was out for. Maybe she was dead. No it couldn't be. Her head and her side hurt too much for her to be dead. With a pained groan she opened her eyes. She fully expected to be still lying on the ground, but to her surprise she was lying on something much softer than the concrete._

_A cloud? No. A bed? _

_She looked around slowly her mind taking a few seconds to catch up to what she was seeing. She was in a room. A very plain bedroom with minimal furnishings. Tsunade pushed herself up in a sitting position and instantly regretted it. Her head began to pound and the room around her began to spin. She raised a hand to her temples to try to calm the rapidly building headache. _

_Instead of skin she felt a soft material beneath her fingers. Someone had bandaged her head. Lifting up the side of her shirt she saw another batch of bandages wrapped around her middle. It took her another second to realize that she was wearing a plain white shirt. _

_Someone had taken her off the street, replaced her torn clothes, and bandaged her wounds. The last thing she remembered was the werewolf killing the vampires._

_The wolf!_

_Tsunade's eyes widened. How in the world was she still alive? She was out of commission that night and there was no way she could have escaped. Maybe someone else came by and got rid of the werewolf? That had to be it._

"_Oh so you're awake. Thank goodness."_

_Tsunade was still so out of it that she didn't notice someone walking into the room. It was a man wearing a similar white shirt and long black pants. He had dark green eyes and blueish silver hair._

_Wait silver?_

"_How are you feeling? You have some pretty bad injuries," he asked warmly._

"_Did you save me? Who are you?" Tsunade asked. This man was extremely handsome. She was slightly embarrassed that she was in such a sad state in front of him._

_The man sat on the bed next to her and smiled._

"_My name is Dan."_

**A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this mini story. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

_Dan. Tsunade repeated his name over and over in her head. While she was transfixed, the mysterious man began to unravel the bandage on her head. She hissed when the wound on her head was exposed to air._

"_Sorry, but this needs to be changed," he spoke softly to her as he continued to remove the bandage._

_Tsunade was shocked at how gentle he was being with her. They sat there in silence, but questions were burning on the tip of her tongue. There was so much that she wanted to know. But she didn't know when he actually found her. She couldn't ask him about the vampires and the werewolf from last night, what if he was just some just some civilian that had found her after the fight was over? But on the other hand, what if he was the one that scared off the wolf? She had already met all the hunters in town and he didn't look familiar, and they didn't have any more units coming in anytime soon._

"_So what did you do to anger those vampires from last night?" Tsunade nearly jumped in surprise she was so deep in thought. So he knew about them. That would make things a bit less complicated. _

"_Nothing. I was just at the wrong place at a bad time," Tsunade replied. It was true, she really should have been paying more attention to the time and to where she was headed._

"_I would think a hunter would know better," Dan chuckled. Tsunade's eyes widened at him. "It was kind of obvious. What normal woman carries around a knife that big? And I saw the damage to their bodies. Precise clean cuts mean that you know what you're doing."_

_While Dan was talking he finished replacing the bandage on her head._

"_What did you do to the wolf? Tsunade asked._

"_What do you mean?" Dan titled his head slightly in confusion._

"_If you saved me then that means you chased the wolf off. How? That thing killed those vampires."_

_Dan paused midway of checking those bandages on her side. He chuckled at her, "That thing also saved your life and is currently changing your bandages right now." It took a few seconds for what he said to sink in._

"_What?!" Tsunade tried to jump up but got tangled in the sheet and blankets and ended up on the floor with a loud thump. _

"_Are you okay?" Dan was quick to reach over to help her up. Tsunade saw him approaching and scuttled away from him until her back connected with the bedroom wall. _

_She was scared. She was stuck in a room with the werewolf from last night and had no weapon on her. Dan stopped his approach and just watched her. He could see the fear in her eyes and looked back at her with a saddened expression. _

"_I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly. Tsunade was so confused. She had only met a few wolves in the past and they were all the same._

_Angry, aggressive, and bloodthirsty. But Dan was just the opposite of that._

"_Why did you save me?" Tsunade asked._

"_Why wouldn't I? You were in danger," Dan sighed and sat on the bed, looking away from her. He was actually expecting this kind of response. _

_Tsunade was intrigued. He saved her then brought her home and took care of her. Tsunade disentangled herself from the blankets and moved to sit next to him on the bed. _

"_Thank you."_

_Dan turned and smiled widely at her._

"_Your welcome."_

* * *

_After her bandages were changed and she was given a light breakfast of toast then she was on her way. But she couldn't get Dan out of her head. Everything was just so surreal. She had never met anyone like him before._

_When she saw the other members of her unit they questioned her wounds but she just brushed them off. Used to her attitude they didn't think much of it. She had many opportunities to mention Dan. A werewolf in the area was definitely something the association would like to know about. But she just couldn't bring herself to tell them. Dan saved her life, it would be wrong to turn him in._

_A few days went by and she still thought about him. She had to know more about him. On the fifth day, Tsunade finally gave in and went to see him. Her body seemed to have memorized the way to his apartment without even giving it much thought. She knocked three times and waited patiently for Dan to come to the door. But no one came. Tsunade sighed and her shoulders slumped._

"_I didn't think that I would be seeing you again." Tsunade jumped and whirled around. Dan was standing directly behind her holding a full bag of groceries. "Or at least not alone. I was expecting a hunter raid," Dan joked._

_Tsunade shuffled her feet and looked away. "You saved my life. I couldn't do that." Dan was slightly surprised but hid it well._

"_Well since you're here, would you like to come in?" he asked politely. _

_From then on Tsunade began to visit more frequently. They talked about many different things. She told him how othesr ridiculed her work and how she constantly butted heads with her unit. And she learned that he was in a similar position. _

_Dan was a rogue, kicked out of his pack. Dan's old pack had hunted humans viciously, something that he was very against. When he spoke up and rebelled he was kicked out for being 'weak'. He had been living on his own ever since._

_They were the same in a sense. Both tired of the bloodshed that lingered from old wars and he closemindedness of their people. _

_When it was time for her to go home she extended her stay even if she really wasn't doing anything for the association anymore. At first it was only a couple of months, then those months slowly turned into a few years. She spent most of her time with Dan. He told her about werewolves and all the other creatures that she knew nearly nothing about. She listened intently and recorded everything he told her. _

_Soon the time they spent together became less informative and more personal. She didn't know exactly when it happened but before she knew it they were official. She loved him and he cared for her just as much._

_Everything was looking up for her. With Dan's help she felt closer to her dream than ever. Their dream. Peace between races. No more conflict. Dan was proof that not all of them wanted to attack humans._

_But their happiness it didn't last forever. One day the hunters were celebrating about something huge. Normally Tsunade would ignore them at times like these but a few things they said caught her attention._

_They had caught something. Something big. The victorious party had brought the body with them and had it out back. Tsunade was leaving when she saw it._

_She was opening her car door when she glimpsed the returning party. They were cheering and shouting, raising their weapons as they stood around the body. Tsunade felt the air leave her lungs and the world fall out from under her when she saw them. The hunters stood around the dead body of a silver wolf. Tsunade tore her eyes away and quickly jumped in her car and headed toward Dan's apartment. She couldn't look at him. Couldn't look at the dead blank eyes and the bloodied pelt._

_He wasn't there. And she knew he wouldn't be. Those hunters had no wounds, didn't even have any dirt on their clothes. There was no fight. Dan wouldn't have attacked them. He had probably tried to escape and ended up going down without fighting back. _

_She threw herself down onto the bed and cried. Tsunade remembered everything that had transpired between them. The longer she thought about it the shorter their times together seemed. She had never been so happy or felt more complete in her life and now there was a gaping hole where that happiness once was._

_Tsunade was tired of killing, tired of death. She put her weapons in storage and picked up a medical textbook. Instead of killing she wanted to save lives. She was too late to save Dan, but there are others that still could use her help._

_The peace they had both dreamed of seemed impossible now._

* * *

Tsunade finished her story with a deep sigh. She rubbed the side of her neck as she recalled her memories. No matter how many years had passed it still hurt to think about him. She was pulled from her memories by a sound.

The older woman looked up to see Sakura crying and wiping the tears from her eyes. Tsunade's first instinct was to shout and tell her not to cry, but the swelling of tears in her own eyes stopped her. She could understand her distress. Tsunade knew that her story was sad, but to Sakura it was a very possible outcome of what could happen between her and Sasuke. Tsunade blinked away her own tears and passed Sakura a box of tissues.

It took Sakura a few minutes to finally calm down. She finally understood why Tsunade was the first and sometimes seemingly only one to believe in Sasuke. They shared a similar fate and even if her aunt's own had ended in tragedy, she hopped with all her heart that hers would be brighter.

"I'm sorry," Sakura mumbled. She slumped in her chair with her eyes downcast.

"Don't be sorry. The past is the past." Tsunade waved away her apology.

"Is that why you never got married?" Sakura asked.

"I could have but I just never found someone else who could measure up to him. I went on a few dates but I never really clicked with any of those guys." Tsunade shrugged. "It's fine." But it really wasn't. She still missed Dan, and she probably always would.

Sakura seemed to know what she was thinking and watched her aunt daydream with sad eyes. Tsunade picked up on her pitiful gaze almost instantly. "That's enough feeling sorry for me. It's late, it's about time you left."

Sakura jumped at the loud volume of her voice. She went over to give her a hug before leaving. "Thank you for sharing your story with me."

"Yeah, yeah. Now get outta here. And on your way home you're needed at HQ. I think they have an assignment for you." Sakura frowned at that. She was hopping to be done with those for a while.

When Sakura was practically out the door Tsunade shouted at her as an afterthought. "And you two behave now. We don't need puppies anytime soon!"

Sakura ran out as fast as she could with her face even brighter than her hair.

* * *

On her way over to HQ she thought about her aunt's tragic past. She felt so sorry for her but it had happened so long ago that there wasn't anything she could really do about it now. It scared her that one day that could be her and Sasuke.

No.

Things were different for them. While no one knew about Dan and everyone here knew about Sasuke so there was no chance he would be 'mistakenly' killed. They might not care for him but he was still an ally. They still had a chance. Their future would be brighter than Tsunade's dark past.

She had to believe in them. She had hope. With much higher spirits she went to pick up her new mission.

The new assignment seemed rather easy. Clear out a group of forest sprites that had made a small section of the forest their home. Sprites are small fairy like creatures that lived in large family groups. Most forest sprites dwelled in areas of thriving vegetation and rarely went into rural areas. They had spindly long limbs and thin translucent wings. Overall they looked very fragile.

Their skin seemed to give off a dim unnatural glow similar to that of a firefly. It can brighten and dim its glow by will. This glow is often what attracts people and animals into their traps and pranks. They have very weak hypnotic manipulating abilities which is used to lure wanderers deep into the forest.

Sakura frowned as she read her instructions. Why would sprites require and eradication? They were virtually harmless. They were pranksters and liked a good joke but they never really harmed anyone. There might have been a case years ago where someone had broken an arm because they had fallen over a tree root while they sprites were messing with him, but that was all.

No one ever died from a sprite attack. If one could even call their jokes and pranks an attack.

This was the kind of things that had her concerned. Why uproot innocent creature's lives? They were located so far in the forest that most people wouldn't even come across them. There was no reason to even bother with them.

With a sigh she closed the folder and headed home. Poor Sasuke probably needed to be rescued.

She wasn't too surprised to see Naruto's car still in her driveway. Her mother loved Naruto. It was highly likely that she had invited him over to stay for dinner.

Skipping past her house she headed straight for Sasuke's. She was caught off guard to see the two of them outside in her backyard rather than in Sasuke's room. It wasn't a scene that one would normally come across.

Sasuke was in wolf form, lying in the middle of the yard curled up in a ball with a bright orange fox bouncing around him. Naruto was yipping and barking while running circles around him. Occasionally he would jump on Sasuke's back or hindquarters and bounce off only to run around and jump on him again. While Naruto was making a pest out of himself Sasuke was lying motionless with his eyes closed. Sakura could see the tension in his muscles and knew he was about to snap any second.

She couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing hysterically. Sakura clutched her stomach and wiped the tears what leaked out of the corner of her eyes. At the sound of her laughing, Naruto abandoned his attack on Sasuke and ran over to Sakura yipping happily along the way.

Before he even got half way to her he was trampled by a much larger body. Naruto squeaked when Sasuke's large paws thundered around him. One of Sasuke's back legs clipped him, making him stumble and tangle his own feet together causing him to fall.

Naruto was left as a dusty orange ball of fluff on the ground while Sasuke bounded over to a still laughing Sakura. He skidded to a stop right in front of her, his tail wagging and his mouth open in a small smile. He nuzzled her face with hers and let out small happy whines. He missed her. Especially after spending all day with Naruto. Sakura's laugher faded to giggles during Sasuke's nuzzling. She hugged his neck and began to run her fingers through his fur.

By then Naruto had recovered and ran over to them. He stood up on his hind legs and began pawing at Sakura for attention. Sasuke saw his friend trying to split his girlfriend's attention and growled at him. When Naruto didn't let up he snapped warningly at him.

"Okay that's enough fighting you two," Sakura laughed. She pushed Sasuke's head away from Naruto. "Go change back." She gestured towards his house. With a last glare at Naruto, Sasuke huffed and walked over to his house.

While Sasuke disappeared into his house, Naruto reverted to his normal form in a poof of smoke. "Why do you always antagonize him?" Sakura asked.

Naruto grinned cheekily at her and sniggered, "It's so much fun." Sakura laughed and shook her head at him.

After a short wait Sasuke opened the door for them and invited them in. He and Sakura moved to the bed and Naruto jumped onto Sasuke's desk chair and tilted it back and forth on its opposing legs.

"So what were you guys fighting about this time?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke scowled at the blonde. "He's annoying."

In return Naruto stuck his tongue out at him playfully. "And you're no fun." Sasuke growled at him but was quickly shushed by Sakura. She gave him a quick hug and patted his cheek soothingly.

"Aww you guys are so cute," Naruto gushed making both his friends roll their eyes.

After a bit more teasing and playful banter Sakura brought up a more serious topic. She pulled out the folder from her bag and laid out its contents on the bed. Sasuke scooted over just as Naruto pushed his way over.

"What's all this?" Naruto leaned in closer, "You got an assignment? Why didn't I get one?"

"Sprites? Seriously? Why even bother with them?" Sasuke asked. They were kind of annoying but of no real threat to anyone. Taking care of them would just be a waste of everyone's time.

Sakura shrugged, "I guess they just don't want any supernatural creatures hanging around, threat or not." Sasuke snorted and even Naruto frowned.

"Do you need help?" Naruto was quick to offer. Even if this job was simple and didn't really require much extra help.

"I don't know. I don't this job is even necessary," Sakura admitted. "Look at the location, it's so far into the forest that hardy anyone would even come across them."

But she knew if she turned down this job then someone else would get it and they probably would have no problem going in there and shooting up the place. Even if she didn't think removing the sprites was entirely important at least she could do it without loss of life.

"Just let us know if you need anything," Naruto said. Sasuke nodded in agreement. Even if this mission was relatively safe he would be following her just in case. Sakura explained to Naruto about her views on trying to avoid killing the sprites and he was all for it. All she needed how was something that they could use to chase them out without hurting anyone.

If they went in and just caused a ruckus the sprites would just hide until they left. They needed something that would keep them away for a while to satisfy the association. They brainstormed but couldn't come up with anything. Maybe a less violent solution was going to be harder than they originally thought.

It was getting late and it was time for Naruto to go home. "Don't do any dirty things to Sakura okay?" Naruto grinned cheekily.

"Just go home," Sasuke glared. Naruto just laughed and waved good bye as he headed to his car.

Sakura settled on the bed next to Sasuke who was laying on his head and rubbing his temples, probably to try to relieve a headache from Naruto. "What was he talking about?" Sakura asked. She was slightly embarrassed but she wasn't expecting him to say anything like that and was caught off guard.

"He knows what we did," Sasuke told her, "He can smell me on you and was bugging me the entire day about it." Imagining Naruto pestering Sasuke and making dirty jokes all day made Sakura giggle. He glowered at her, she had no idea what he went through.

His glare made her laugh. "Aww my poor baby." She kissed him lightly, making him feel a bit better. "Oh yeah, I have something to tell you." She shared Tsunade's story with Sasuke. She wasn't about to go around telling everyone, but she thought Sasuke should know.

Sasuke never expected anything like that when Sakura said she had something to tell him. He was shocked that they weren't the only interspecies couple. But it did explain why Tsunade was the only one to trust him when he first arrived.

Noticing Sakura's depressed look Sasuke asked, "Are you scared? That one day that's going to be us?"

"A little," Sakura admitted.

"Don't be. Because I promise not to leave you," Sasuke said.

Sakura smiled at him and kissed him. "I love you." Sasuke smirked at her and returned her kiss.

* * *

The next day Sakura had spent the entire afternoon at the hunter's main office going over old books and anything that could help them. There was almost no information on sprites but she managed to find a few bits of information that might be of use to them.

She had Naruto and Sasuke meet her after she finished her research. "So what did Sakura say?" Naruto asked. Sasuke only shrugged. He had no idea what Sakura needed them for either. They were currently sitting in the living room munching on snacks that Sasuke managed to find when scrounging around the kitchen.

By the time Sakura came home it was almost an hour later than she had told them. "It's about time!" Naurto shouted over the noise from the TV. Sakura quickly apologized and threw him a small cloth bag. Naruto caught it easily and stared at it curiously. It was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand and was tied at the top by a thin cord. It made a soft rustling sound when he shook it. "What is it?" he asked.

"Open it. And let me know how it smells," Sakura smiled brightly at him. Naruto opened the bag cautiously. He peered inside only to see a bunch of dried up leaves, roots, and a few other things he couldn't make out.

He sniffed it cautiously and frowned. "Sorry Sakura but if you were trying to make some kind of potpourri this smells weird." He tossed the bag to Sasuke who opened it and took a whiff. Sasuke coughed and gagged at the awful smell that was wafting from the open bag.

Naruto began to laugh only to end up coughing and sputtering when Sasuke threw the bag in his face. The leaves and dried things fluttered around Naruto's head before settling on the couch and the floor.

"Hey careful! Some of those things were hard to find," Sakura scolded. She quickly went around to scoop up whatever she could. After apologizing sheepishly Naruto helped her by plucking the bits and pieces off the couch. Now that the bag was open and spilled into the room the smell started to permeate the whole room making Sasuke bolt. He quickly left the living room and escaped into Sakura's room.

"These things smell weird but it's not that bad," Naruto said as he glanced at the door Sasuke had just ran through.

"You have to remember that Sasuke has a better nose than you do Naruto," Sakura reminded, "And this mixture is supposed to affect animals and other things more than people."

"What is it?" Naruto asked taking one more sniff of the stuff. He didn't like the smell but it wasn't as revolting as Sasuke made it seem.

"It's a mixture of different herbs mostly. Some of these things are used in making repellants so I figured if I mixed the most horrible smelling things together than we can use it to get rid of the sprites. They're normally not aggressive so if we disturb them hopefully they just move on."

"That's a pretty good idea!" Naruto smiled, "And it seems to work too. Did you see how fast Sasuke ran away?"

If Sasuke's reaction was anything to go by Sakura's stink bomb should clear the forest of anything of concern. This way there was no waste of life and no unnecessary violence.

* * *

During their next available weekend the three of them went out in search of the sprites armed with multiple pouches of Sakura's horrible smelling concoction. It was just the three of them, no need for a whole party for such a simple assignment.

"Geez how far in are these things," Naruto complained. They were already walking for almost an hour and they hadn't found them yet. "Who was even wondering around this far in the forest to even find them in the first place?" That was a good question. How did they find them anyway?

"You know if your idea doesn't work then were going to have to walk all the way back here again," he said. If Sakura's repellent didn't chase away the sprites they would most likely have to redo the mission and probably get chewed out for not just killing them in the first place.

"I'm sure it will work," Sakura said confidently, "And if it does it will show everyone that we can still do our jobs without killing everything in sight." She needed this to work, it was the first step to getting the others to understand that not all supernatural creatures are evil.

Sakura felt a weight against her side. Wolf Sasuke nuzzled her side and let out a soft whine. Sakura smiled at him and starched under his chin. "You didn't need to come you know. It's going to smell pretty bad," she said. She had told him many times that the two of them could handle it, but Sasuke was persistent. Even with the danger level being very low he didn't want Sakura going on a mission without him. There was always a chance something would go wrong or something unexpected would happen. Their surprise manticore attack was still fresh on his mind.

"There they are," Naruto pointed. Between the trees and bushes they could see a dim glow. Sneaking in closer they could make out dim glowing orbs floating around and settling in the trees. With a silent signal Naruto and Sakura spread out and Sasuke moved back slightly. They set up multiple small pouches sitting in a pile of small rocks along one side of the sprites nest.

They lifted cloth masks to cover the bottom portion of their faces and lit the bags. As the bags began to smoke, Naruto and Sakura pulled out small fans and began to fan the growing smoke. Even downwind Sasuke could smell the putrid odor of the smoke. He backed farther away with a disgruntled growl.

As more of the smoke began to fil the forest they finally began to get a reaction from the sprites. It started as sudden shifting of the glowing sprites then it grew into frantic movements and flashing lights. Soon enough panic erupted throughout the sprite population. They buzzed around bumping into each other and into trees.

Soon the sprites began to flee, unable to handle the smell any longer. After the final light disappeared into the darkness of the forest Naruto and Sakura went around and put out the small fires they had made.

"It worked!" Sakura cheered. She high-fived Naruto and turned to hug Sasuke only to see him peeking out of a bush much farther away than he had been earlier. Poor Sasuke. After the ashes cooled, Sakura and Naruto sprinkled the ashes and remaining leaves around the trees that the sprites previously inhabited to keep them away just in case they came back.

When they got back to HQ Sakura explained what they had did to complete her mission. She had received raised eyebrows and confused looks but no one could argue that she completed her mission successfully. Some had even been interested in the concoction she had come up with. The first step into changing the views of the other hunters was a success.

**A/N: I had the hardest time writing this one, the words just didn't want to flow at all. I apologize for taking so long and I'm sad to say that my updating might be a bit sporadic from now on. I'm really struggling to put out a quality product, but I hope you guys still like this chapter. I'm not too fond of it. I needed to finish Tsunade's story then add a bit of a filler with some extra info to round off the chapter.**

**But some good news, I think I finally finished the main ideas that are going to be the backbone of part two. There are some plot holes and things that need filling but its still a work in progress. Thanks for being patient everyone!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Everything seemed normal. All the craziness from the past few months seemed to be finally dying down. Sasuke was glad for a small chance to relax. Physical and emotional. After Sakura's successful mission she hadn't received anymore. Seems like everything was taking a break, even the other creatures of the night.

Sakura asked him to check on the area the sprites used to live to see if the repellent she created had any residual effects. He was a bit reluctant at first. That thing was not something he was looking forward to smelling again anytime soon.

He decided to go alone since it was quite far into the forest and it took Naruto and Sakura quite a while to hike it on their last expedition. And it's been a while since he had a nice long run. He bounded over bushes and the occasional large stone as he sped through the forest, nothing slowed him down.

The forest hummed with the quiet buzz of the nocturnal bugs and animals. But no sign of anything unnatural. He slowed down as he approached the trees that the sprites used to live in. Sasuke crouched in the bushes and peaked through the leaves. There was no glow that indicated sprites in the area but there was a faint scent.

He walked up to one of the trees and sniffed at the trunk. There was a very faint whiff of that disgusting crap that forced the sprites to flee but it was hardly noticeable. If he had a human nose he probably wouldn't be able to smell it at all. But on top of that smell was another one. It appeared that a couple of the sprites did come back after their initial attack but they didn't stick around. Sasuke wasn't surprised, sprites were peaceful and they don't go looking for a fight. They must have come back for anything that got left behind when they made their escape. Since they were disturbed they probably won't be coming back here.

Sasuke lifted his nose and picked up the scent trail of a couple sprites that had been visiting. He chased after the scent just to make sure that they hadn't settled even closer to town. But luckily for them the trail headed even father into the forest. It past the borders of the hunter's land but Sasuke followed it anyway. About half a mile out the trail split up and spread out in different directions. Picking one at random, Sasuke decided to follow it just a little farther. It lead him to a clearing with a sparkling spring and a small waterfall.

It was a beautiful place and untouched by man, the perfect place for sprites to live. Sasuke walked up to the spring and took a quick drink before laying down at the water's edge.

While he was thinking a sprite fluttered down and buzzed around his head. It floated above him and observed him curiously. Sasuke could clearly make out the frail fairly like body within the glow. Seeing that he wasn't a threat the sprite hovered in front of his face and gently patted the tip of his nose. He shook his head and batted it away. The sprite fluttered back into the trees and giggled at him.

He could faintly see the glow of the other sprites in the distance. Even after being chased from their homes the sprites were still happy and peaceful. Listening closely, Sasuke could hear their tinkling laughter. It was nice. It was so peaceful, he should bring Sakura here sometime she would like it.

* * *

Another monotonous week passed before Sasuke got a message from Orochimaru. It had been a while since he had seen him so Sasuke was kind of expecting a summons from him soon. He planned to stop by after school to see what the old scientist wanted.

When he told Sakura about it she had agreed to drop him off, but she seemed a bit hesitant. "You don't have to do this you know," she said on the way over to Orochimaru's lab. "I know you want that serum from him but just be careful okay? I would rather you avoid injecting yourself with all kinds of chemicals."

Sasuke was mostly silent throughout the trip. He listened to Sakura's fears giving the occasional 'hmm' to let her know that he was listening. He had been thinking the same thing recently. Did he truly need Orochimaru's serum? But not using it would seem like such a waste. Years or research aimlessly discarded.

"It would be more of a luxury than a necessity," Sasuke responded, "Something that I can hold onto just in case I need it." He had a point that Sakura couldn't deny. While his desire to be human wasn't as strong as it used to be, the serum would still be a nice thing to have.

When they arrived Sakura told him that she'd would be at HQ, she wanted to explore the vast library that most went unused. Why bother learning about something when you could just blow it up?

"Just give me a call and I can come get you," she stuck her head out the car window to talk to him just as he was about to open the lab door. She was smiling at him but Sasuke could see through her façade and could tell that she was still worked despite her happy attitude.

"I'll walk. Then you can spend more time doing whatever you wanted to do," Sasuke responded.

This time her smile was genuine and the very sight of it warmed his heart. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit then." With that she drove off and Sasuke entered the lab.

Orochimaru was very happy to see him, almost ecstatic. Sasuke was quickly ushered to the lower part of the lab. He sat down in his usual chair while Orochimaru pulled out multiple files and began flipping through them, murmuring quietly under his breath. Before Sasuke could lose his patience just sitting there, Orochimaru placed his files on the table and smiled at him.

"Normal boring questions. How are you feeling? Orochimaru stated. They began going through the standard questions that accompanied a normal doctor's visit much to Sasuke's annoyance. Part way through, he noticed that Kabuto wasn't around. It was rare that the other man wasn't in the office with his boss.

"Alright, now to the exciting part," Orochimaru grinned, "We had quite the breakthrough in your little project. Are you ready to try it?"

Sasuke was confused. "But it's not a full moon tonight."

"That's the best part! You just take this once and you should be all set. It depends more on your ability to control your shifting so it's not as concentrated as the last dose we tried." Orochimaru tried to explain.

"So I just take this one time?"

"Ideally, but you may need another dose occasionally."

Sasuke was a bit unsure. He no longer really needed this and now Orochimaru had created a long term fix for him. But what was the point in wasting it if this thing actually worked? More control over his shifting did seem useful. Sasuke nodded and Orochimaru grinned before disappearing farther into the lab. When he came back he has holding what looked like an IV bag filled with a red fluid. At first glance Sasuke thought the bag contained blood, but upon further inspection the liquid appeared too bright and too translucent to be blood.

"All that?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, because you take it less frequently the dose has to be much larger to have the lasting effect that we're aiming for," Orochimaru said.

Orochimaru attached a tube and needle to the bottom of the bag then probed the underside of Sasuke's arm for a vein. Sasuke winced and grit his teeth when the red liquid began to drain into his body. There was a searing pain that followed the path that the red liquid flowed down his arm. He gripped the arm rests of the chair, trying to block out the pain. He could almost see the red, glowing through his veins under his skin that was close to the injection point. The glow faded as it progressed deeper into his body. He watched as the bag slowly emptied, it seemed to drag on for hours even if it took closer to ten minutes. Just like last time he had tried the serum, there was a heat that was slowly building up in his body. As most of the fluid disappeared into his body and the bag emptied the pain slowly faded but the heat remained. When the bag was finally empty Orochimaru removed the bag from his arm. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Hot." Sweat started to bead on Sasuke's forehead even in the air-conditioned lab.

"Any pain?"

Sasuke shook his head. It had hurt at first but now most of the initial pain had gone away. Orochimaru nodded his head while scribbling Sasuke's answers on a notepad. So far everything seemed to be going well.

"That should be it. You're free to go. If you start to feel sick make sure to come see me right away," Orochimaru instructed.

Sasuke couldn't wait to leave. He left the room without even a glance backwards. He rubbed his arm where the injection point was. There was a small mark there that was still slightly tender.

After leaving Orochimaru's lab he slowly made his way to the hunter's main building where Sakura was studying. He still felt oddly hot even as the sun was beginning to set. Hopefully that would pass after his system got used to the new chemical he just ingested. Sasuke groaned and rubbed his temples. His head was starting to throb and pound painfully, the pain gradually increasing.

As time dragged on his headache only worsened and seemed to have spread to the rest of his body. His muscles were tight and achy as if he was a string wound too tightly.

Sasuke had somehow managed to make it to the building and was working his way to the bottom floors where the library. Halfway down one of the many hallways he stopped to lean against the wall. His breath came in raspy gasps seeming to having difficulty gathering enough oxygen in his lungs.

He should probably head back to Orochimaru's lab, something wasn't right. As soon as he found Sakura he would ask her to drive him back immediately.

"Hey, are you okay?" A couple of young hunter trainees a few years younger than him noticed Sasuke struggling to stay upright and went over to check on him.

But Sasuke was too far gone to answer at that point. His head was fuzzy and he felt hot all over, much more than from when he left the lab. It took him a few seconds to recognize that feeling, it was what he felt when we tried to hold off a transformation for too long. But it was wrong. It wasn't a full moon and his body hurt much more than anything he'd ever felt before. It was as if his body was trying to tare itself apart.

Through the mist that clouded his brain he could barely make out one of the boys reaching towards him. When the boys hand touched his shoulder he recoiled violently. Sasuke collapsed on the floor, his body reflexively trying to curl into a ball to sooth the pain. He wasn't even aware that he had started screaming as his body began to take on a new shape.

His muscles bulged and stretched, reshaping themselves. Dark colored claws grew from his hands and his human teeth elongated into dangerous fangs. Familiar black fur raced over to cover the grotesque shape that writhed on the ground.

The two hunters let out frightened screams as they frantically backed away from the body.

The monster on the floor uncurled itself and rose to its feet. Its blood red eyes shown with ferocity and its lips pulled back to reveal huge fangs.

Sasuke's new form looked similar to is regular wolf form with two major differences. He retained a more human physic and was now bipedal. He was also much bigger, standing almost 7 feet tall.

In a flash the monster lashed out at the hunters. One suffered deep gashes across the chest, while the other had a much worse fate. After knocking the first kid away he lunged at the second. His fangs sinking into the boy's neck. With a sickening crunch and spurts of blood the boy was dead.

The screaming had caught the attention of other hunters in the facility. A small group of them rushed to investigate and come across the gruesome scene. They stared in horror at the bloodied walls and mangled bodies.

The sound of their footsteps caused the monster's head to whip in their direction. They looked into the glowing red eyes and the huge fangs incased by a blood soaked muzzle.

"Oh shit!" one of them swore. They tuned on their heels and ran towards the exit with the monster right behind them.

The wolf pounced on one of them men and knocked him to the floor. The others paused only for a second to see their comrade torn to bits, his blood and innards spilling onto the floor. With no hope in helping the poor man, they continued to flee.

On their mad dash to escape, the fleeing hunters managed to set off the emergency alarm. By the time the wolf had finished with his prey the rest of the men had disappeared down the hall. He followed their scent leading outside. The monster burst through the reinforced door to be met by a barrage of bullets.

With a pained roar he staggered back from the force of the shots. The rounds pierced his skin and caused rivers of blood to flow down his body.

* * *

Sakura jumped when alarms and flashing red lights started blaring through the entire building. Someone had set off the emergency alarms. She quickly jumped up and headed for the door, knocking over some of the books she had collected along the way.

The alarm meant that HQ was under attack. She had met a few other hunters on her way out and they managed to find one of the many weapons caches that were hidden around the building. Sakura hid her displeasure as one of the men handed her a rifle. Despite her dislike for the weapon it was better than going around unarmed. Together they made their way through the building but they hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked. None of the other hunters could answer her for they were unsure of what was really happening. Then a ferocious roar echoed through the building. It seemed to be coming from the outside. They rushed toward the source of the sound to find the what was causing all the commotion.

By the time they got outside majority of the people in the building were already gathered there. Something lay crouched on the side of the building in the middle of a ring of raised guns. Slowly the thing uncurled itself and rose to its full height. As it stood up it made a tinkling noise. Bullets were falling from its body and they watched as the numerous bullet wounds began to heal.

Sakura gasped at the sight of the creature. It was some kind of wolf, but not one she had ever seen before. Nothing in history had ever mentioned something that looked like that.

After shaking the remaining bullets from is body the beast roared showing of large deadly fangs. It was met by another barrage of bullets. But this time the bullets only seemed to make it angry. It staggered and was forced to take a few steps backwards from the force of the assault, but it didn't stay that way for long.

It leapt into the air and landed next to a pair of older hunters. With one swipe of its claws it sent the two men flying. But it didn't stop there. It dropped to all fours and sprinted towards another cluster of hunters. It dashed back and forth dodging bullets and quickly closing the gap between them. The few bullets that did make contact didn't even slow it down.

Now that they knew that their weapons weren't working panic began to spread. A few dropped their guns and tried to escape. But their fleeing backs only urged the monster to give chase.

It was a massacre. Nothing seemed to work on it. A few brave souls had pulled out their knives as the beast attacked them in a desperate attempt to save themselves. But just like before, any wounds that were inflicted on the monster seemed to begin healing almost instantly.

Covered in blood and standing in the middle of a heap of corpses the monster threw its head back and let out a blood chilling howl. In the glowing lights from the building something metal was glimmering from the base if the beast's neck.

Sakura gasped and dropped her weapon. She immediately recognized it for she had seen that metal chain almost every day of her life. "But it can't be," she whispered. She wouldn't admit it. That thing, that monster that had was senselessly killing, could not be Sasuke. She reached up and touched her own necklace, the one that would activate Sasuke's at her command.

What happened to him? He would never do something like this. And this form, it was something completely new to her. Something horrifying.

"What happened to you Sasuke?" she looked on sadly. Heartbroken for the ones that had lost their lives, and fearful for the one she loved.

It seemed like Sasuke was now looking for new prey as his glowing red eyes scanned the area around them. His gaze stopped on three young hunters that sat against the building huddled near one of the torn bodies of Sasuke's attack. Two girls and one boy, they couldn't be much older than ten, much too young to defend themselves against some as ferocious as him. As he approached one of the girls started to cry and the other kids began to whimper and cower.

"No don't!" Sakura screamed. She clutched the crystal around her neck. The red glow of the crystal shown between her clenched fingers.

As the crystal shined the runes on the chain began to activate for the first time in years. The beast before her roared and collapsed to the ground writhing in agony. He clawed at his neck tearing at the necklace.

"Quick! Get out of here!" Sakura shouted and waved her free hands at the kids. The frightened children quickly turned tail and bolted. Some of the other people followed their example and started running.

Sasuke's breaths came in deep heaves through gritted teeth. He managed to grasp the chain in both hands and began pulling. As Sasuke fought against the power of the chain Sakura watched fearfully as the runes began to glow even brighter. She could see the muscles in his arms bulge as he pulled harder.

Then suddenly a few of the links in the chain snapped. The chain's glow dimmed and died out completely as it fell to the ground in useless pieces. On the opposite end, the crystal in Sakura's hand shattered and cut into her hand. She gasped and slowly opened her hand allowing some of the crystal fragments to fall to the ground. She stared unbelievingly at the few red shards that were still imbedded in her palm causing small trickles of blood to flow.

The beast panted heavily as he began to recover from the pain. He glanced up and saw the person responsible for his anguish and growled.

Hearing the menacing sound, Sakura looked up from examining her hand to see ferocious red eyes glaring at her. He took slow steps toward her growling and bearing his fangs. She stood there stunned, fear immobilizing her.

This was Sasuke, he doesn't act this way. He wasn't cruel and bloodthirsty; he wasn't a killer. Her eyes flickered to the other people that still remained. Some were trying to help injured family and friends and other were too frightened to move.

Nothing would stop him from finishing them off. Their weapons weren't working against him and the chain had broken. How could she still save those people when he seemed invincible? Right now he seemed to be following his most basic instincts. Perhaps that was what could save them.

Sakura took a few steps backward to make sure she had his attention before she whirled around and sprinted away. With a mighty roar he took off after her. He was a hunter; he couldn't resist a chase. She ran as fast as she could away from the town, away from innocent people. Some of them called to her but she ignored them and kept on running.

She ran as fast as she possibly could, but she knew that she had no chance of escape. The only reason that she wasn't dead yet was because he was letting her go. Everything else so far hadn't stood a chance against him and now there was finally a challenge.

Sakura could hear his pounding footsteps right behind her, feel his hot breath fanning the back of her neck. She made sharp turn and ran down narrow alleyways to slow him down. In the middle of the ally she stopped and looked back. He was standing and the opening glowering at her. His bulk made entering the thin ally nearly impossible. With an angry snarl he disappeared around the corner.

She paused only for a second to catch her breath before she was off again. The forest edge was close she only needed to keep running for a little while longer. But she was kidding herself. Once she reached the forest what then? Everyone else was safe but she was in grave danger. She had nothing. But it was too late to do anything about it now.

The forest edge appeared faster than she expected, but she didn't stop there. She ducked under branches and leapt over logs, disappearing deeper into the foliage. She waited to heard the thundering of huge paws or the rumbling angry growl, but the forest was quiet.

She finally came to a halt somewhere in the middle of the forest, or at least she thought it was. Tired and out of breath she leaned against a tree trunk. Even if she couldn't hear or see him she knew that Sasuke was around. He was hunting her, staying out of sight until it was just the right moment. Sakura refused to just let this happen, without trying anything. Maybe if she could get through to him he would change back.

Gathering her courage, she stepped away from the tree and began shouting, "What happened to you Sasuke? Please change back!" She looked around her trying to spot him through the darkness. Every shadow, every twitch of a leave made her jump.

"We can figure this out. Find a way to change you back." Sakura gently touched the side of her neck. "Together, just like always." She was scared but the more she continued to talk the little braver she felt.

But simple words wouldn't be enough to reach him.

Sakura jumped when the ground shook as something massive landed behind her. She immediately turned around and looked deep into the monster's glowing red eyes. No matter what form Sasuke was in she always knew it was him. She could feel the connection between them like it were some real corporeal thing. But gazing into the eyes of this beast was different. There was no connection.

"Sas-" she tried to speak to him but was abruptly cut off. In one swift motion he backhanded her across her chest, sending her flying into the same tree she had been leaning on. She hit the trunk hard, her head taking the brunt of the impact. There was a sickening crunch then she crumped to the ground and collapsed among the roots, immobile, blood pooling around the wound that tore open on the side of her head. She was unconscious, vulnerable, as she lay there with blood soaking into her shirt and hair.

The beast tilted its head to the side as it examined the person he just attacked. His nose twitched as he took in her scent. Slowly, cautiously, he began to approach her.

**A/N: I've been having a sort of writer's block, and not the normal kind. I know whats going to happen next but I can't seem to sit down and type it out. I also feel like my writing isn't always up to par. I know that I need to work on my vocabulary and repetitiveness of words but it feels like there is still things I need to work on but I'm not too sure what. If you happen to notice recurring mistakes or things I can improve on please let me know.**

**On another note. Is it me or have the quality of stories recently gone down? I've been trying to find things to read but nothing catches my eye. All the plots are similar (once you read a really good one the rest don't seem as interesting), the chapters are super short, or its just poorly written. Or maybe I'm being too critical, just like I am with my own work. **

**Anyway...sorry I took so long. Even if I may struggle to complete this story just know that I will finish it for sure, even if it takes longer than I originally hoped. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The wolf slowly stepped toward the unconscious Sakura. He tilted his head curiously as he crouched down to sniff at her. Something about her scent intrigued him. He dropped down on all four legs and leaned in even closer. His ear flicked as he heard the snapping of twigs and the rustling of leaves as something ran through the underbrush.

He turned just was something big and orange slammed into him. It hit him with so much force that he was thrown backwards and knocked off his feet. Claws scrabbled in the dirt as he tried to quickly regain his footing. He crouched low on all four legs and snarled angrily at the giant fox that was standing protectively in front of the unconscious Sakura.

It growled at him, all nine of its tails lashing angrily in the air. The two of them glared at each other, neither moving an inch.

Sasuke's eyes wandered over to Sakura's body but was cut off when the fox took a step to the side to block his vision. If he wanted to get close to her he would have to get through the fox first. He charged forward and threw himself at the fox. But the other animal wasn't about to go down without a fight.

His jaws closed right next to the fox's face just nearly missing his muzzle. The fox ducked and head butted him at the base of his neck making him choke and gag. While he was incapacitated the fox took the chance to bite down on his shoulder and sink his claws into his side.

A pained snarl rumbled from his chest as the fangs and claws of his opponent tore into his flesh. Rivers of blood darkened his black fur even further. But a bit of pain wasn't going to stop him from fighting back. With a swing of his enormous claws he slashed at the fox's unprotected underbelly. With a yip the fox let go and jumped away. It was hurt and losing quite a bit of blood but the wound wasn't life threatening.

Only giving their opponent a second to catch their breath they charged at each other again. They became a tangle of limbs and tails; a black and orange blur that tumbled over and over across the forest floor.

They clawed and snapped at each other, the noise of their fight resonated through the forest. Sasuke caught one of the fox's tails in his jaws and bit down hard. Before he could do any more damage one of the other tails slammed down on top of his face. He let out a yelp and released the fox's tail. Growling angrily, he raised his hands to cover his face while he waited for the pain to recede.

While he was incapacitated the fox launched himself at him and head-butted him in the stomach. Winded, Sasuke clawed blindly in the area in front of him with one hand still covering his aching face and eyes. But he got nothing but air, the fox had quickly moved to a safe distance after its attack.

The fox stood away from him, panting heavily. The bleeding from his stomach wound had slowed immensely and its other smaller cuts had already clotted. Sasuke didn't look much better. The dried blood on his fur along with the many wounds covering his body made him look like something straight out of a horror movie. It seemed that Sasuke's new healing abilities have a limit. The lacerations he received from his fight with the fox were closing much slower than his previous injuries. When he fought against the hunters, the bullet wounds he got from them healed almost instantly but now they took a few minutes to stop bleeding before finally began to close and heal.

With both beasts tiring it wouldn't be long before one of them landed a fatal blow. Sasuke took his hand away from his face and shook his head trying to wipe away the last tendrils of pain. He blinked a few times to clear his vision only to realize the fox was gone. But he didn't have to wait long to find him.

While he was recovering the fox had snuck around him and pounced on his back. The fox clung on by digging his claws into Sasuke's back and bit down between the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

Sasuke roared in pain and began to thrash around trying to dislodge the fox from his back. He clawed at the fox's face and neck but refused to let go. It was extremely persistent. With every swipe of Sasuke's claws chunks of skin and orange fur was torn away. Fed up with his attacker, Sasuke threw his body against a tree crushing the fox between them.

The force of the blow caused the fox to loosen his grip allowing Sasuke to reach behind him and tear him off his back. With as much force as he could, Sasuke threw the fox to the ground and stomped on his chest. As he looked down on his opponent dark blood dripped off his body and stained the orange fur. The fox struggled beneath his weight and couldn't break free.

Sasuke was about to finish him but a whistling noise caught his attention. A second later there was a small stinging sensation on his arm. Looking down at the limb in question he saw two feathered darts sticking out of it. Without hesitation he ripped them out and tossed them aside.

He turned his attention back to the fox and raised a clawed hand to finish him off. But he was stopped by more darts. He let out an irritated growl as three darks struck him in the chest. He yanked the offending objects out of his chest and crushed them in his hand. Those were getting annoying.

Hearing more soft whistling he jumped out of the way. He moved just in time to avoid another pair of darts. Now that he was free, the fox quickly scrambled to his feet and moved to stand between Sasuke and Sakura again. Behind him a group of hunters appeared from between the trees. If Sasuke was in his normal state of mind he would have recognized their group of friends in a heartbeat.

"Damn is that Sasuke?" Kiba gasped. He wasn't the only one who was astonished at what their friend had turned into.

"Be careful," Shikamaru warned, "We can't afford any screw ups." He cocked his gun and raised it, the others copied his example. They were using a different kind of weapon than they normally carried. Instead of the standard ammunition their guns were loaded with tranquilizer darts. But they didn't seem to be working.

Hinata was the only one to lower her weapon. She walked up to the fox and worriedly looked over all his wounds. "Naruto are you okay?" The fox looked at her and nodded his head, his tails swaying slowly behind him.

"If he could do that much damage to Naruto just imagine what he could do to us," Chouji said, his voice laced with fear. They had seen the bodies near the building and saw all the destruction he had caused. A bunch of kids armed with non-lethal weapons didn't stand a chance against Sasuke.

But there was more hope for them than they thought. Even if the darts didn't stay in him for long it was enough time for the tranquilizer to enter his system. He had to have had at least four doses already. While it hadn't had an immediate effect he was slowly starting to feel drowsy. His eyelids felt heavy and his muscles felt sluggish.

Before his body gave out on him, Sasuke charged at the group. His vision swam, forcing him to lash out wildly. The blurred shapes in front of him scattered and moved beyond his limited field of vison. Exhausted, Sasuke fell to his knees and breathing raggedly. He flinched feeling more of those stinging pinpricks piercing his back. He tried to pull the darts out, but they were just out of reach.

Sasuke tried to stand up but his legs just couldn't support his weight anymore. With a heavy thud, the collapsed on the ground. He blinked a few times in a desperate attempt to keep his eyes open but even that small task was quickly becoming too difficult. Finally, too tired to continue fighting he let out a deep sigh and let his eyes close.

* * *

No one dropped their guard even if it seemed that Sasuke was out cold. After waiting a few minutes and the only movement was Sasuke's slow even breathing did they finally declare it safe. Ino immediately dropped her gun and ran over to Sakura. The others followed close behind her.

"Sakura?! Sakura are you alright?" Ino's cried. The pitch of her voice increased as her panic began to raise. She wanted to shake her, make her answer. But she was afraid to hurt her more than she already was. No matter how much she wanted her friend to sit up and tell her that she was alright, she wasn't. Ino's hand hovered over Sakura, she was unsure what to do. The large pool of blood around Sakura's head made it obvious that she was suffering from a really bad head wound. Moving her could possibly make things even worse if they weren't careful. A few of the others gathered around, but the only one of them who had the medical knowhow was currently the one in need.

Hinata looked worriedly over at Sakura and clutched her hands to her chest. Seeing her distress, Naruto walked up to her and nosed her side. She turned her attention to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Hinata clutched him tightly tried to fight off the tears and sniffling that was trying to overtake her. When she finally let go, Naruto's form began to waver before it finally disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto's human form looks much more ragged than he has as a fox. His clothes were torn and covered in blood and his body was covering in multiple cuts and bruises.

"Naruto are you okay?!" Hinata gasped as she took in the sight of her mangled boyfriend.

"I'm okay. It looks worse than it actually is," Naruto shrugged. But the simple movement seemed to jar his injuries making him wince. It was obvious that he was lying and just trying to hide how injured he actually was.

"We need to get these two to the hospital right away," Neji instructed. He had just gotten off the phone with Tsunade at the hospital and she had sent an ambulance and a special team to deal with Sasuke. The ambulance wouldn't be able to make it to the middle of the forest so she gave him specific instructions on how to carefully move Sakura without causing any more harm.

But no one moved. They were all too nervous. So any things could go wrong. Moving Sakura could make her worse than she already is. Or Sasuke could wake up.

Shikamaru sighed tiredly, "C'mon. We're going to need to move Sakura in order to get her some medical attention if we want to save her." With his final coaxing they gently lifted her and began to long slow trek out to the road. Neji, Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru stayed behind to wait for the retrieval team for Sasuke. Even if he was currently incapacitated they didn't want to leave anything to chance.

* * *

Sasuke was exhausted and his body ached. He couldn't remember ever feeling this drained. He groaned and struggled to open his eyes. He couldn't remember the last thing he was doing or where he was. It was dark and cold, not a very nice environment. Sasuke groaned and tried to move only to realize that he was stuck.

He was fully awake in an instant. Sasuke looked around franticly trying to figure out where he was and what happened to him. Bars and chains. He was locked in a dungeon of some sort. His arms were raised above his head and chained to the ceiling above him. And what the hell happened to his clothes. He was shirtless and only had on a black pair of shorts that didn't belong to him.

His first instinct was to get out. The chains rattled as he tugged on them as hard as he could. But he was still drained and was soon gasping for breath from the strain. His feeble efforts had no effect on the thick metal.

Why was he imprisoned? What happened? Sasuke's thought where a turbulent mess in his mind making it hard to concentrate on anything. He tried hard to remember the events that led up to his capture but he was drawing a blank. It seemed like forever that he was imprisoned. At one point he passed out and was asleep for an unknown amount of time. He phased in and out of sleep numerous times.

He was roused from his sleep by the sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor. There was a screech of metal against metal as a small latch was opened and a tray of food was pushed through. The plastic slid across the floor until it came in contact with his foot. Sasuke looked down and hardly paid attention to the scraps of food that were now scattered messily over the plate. He didn't recognize the guy who gave him the food. By his build he could tell that it was a man but other than that his full hunters garb hid his identity.

"Hey wait!" Sasuke shouted as the man started to walk away. Sasuke was surprised how horse his voice sounded. "What's going on? Why am I in here?"

The man stopped but didn't turn around. He paused for a few seconds before continuing on his way, completely ignoring Sasuke. Sasuke yelled at him again but the man kept going, leaving Sasuke to glare angrily at his back as his disappeared. His only chance for answers just walked away.

With nothing else to do, Sasuke looked back down at the tray of food. How was he supposed to eat if he couldn't use his hands? The chains even prevented him from bending down. He sighed and closed his eyes again. They may have provided him with food but with no means to eat it the food became more of a torture. Maybe it would have been better if he had stayed asleep.

* * *

The cell that Sasuke was in had no clock and no way to see the daylight from outside, so there was no way he could tell how many days had passed since he had ben captive. He was slowly regaining his strength and the dull aching in his body was finally starting to fade. But now he was starving and thirsty. The food that the hunter had brought him was old and stale by now. Even if he wanted to eat it there was no way for him to reach it. After his first visitor no one else had come by.

Where was Sakura? His friends? None of them would take his capture lightly. He didn't believe that they would just abandon him. As his mind was beginning to wander for the umpteenth time he finally heard the sound of more footsteps.

He had never been so happy to see Naruto in his entire life. But his excitement dimmed when he saw the battered condition of his friend. Normally Naruto healed even faster than he did. There were bandages wrapped around his arms and it looked like most of his face was bruised.

"What happened? What's going on?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto looked startled. "You mean you don't remember?"

Sasuke shook his head. He used his imprisonment to try to recall what had happened to get him into this situation but he could only vaguely remember going to visit Orochimaru. That was it! He probably had some negative effect from that thing Orochimaru gave him. But then why was he imprisoned rather than in the hospital? There was so many things he was clueless about.

Sasuke questioned Naruto again only for his query to be brushed off. "They were supposed to be feeding you. But this crap is old. And how do they expect you to eat chained up like that," Naruto mumbled under his breath.

Already frustrated with his predicament, Sasuke had almost no patience. "Stop ignoring me! What the fuck happened?!"

Naruto turned away unable to meet his friends gaze. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"Going to see Orochimaru. He gave me something that was supposed to keep me from transforming during the full moon," Sasuke answered.

"He lied."

Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief. "What do you mean? And how would you know?" Now Sasuke was starting to get upset. "What does this even have to do with why I'm in here?"

Naruto let out a deep sigh, still refusing to face Sasuke. "You were out of control and killed over 30 people." Sasuke felt a sudden chill come over him, and it felt like the air had been knocked out of him. That couldn't be right. He refused to believe something so ridiculous. He closed his eyes and shook his head viciously in denial.

"You transformed into something we never seen before. It was like you were on steroids or something, and you had super regenerative powers. We had to tranquilize you in order to finally stop you," Naruto continued. He began to retell what happened after he had reached HQ.

The things Naruto was saying began to trigger the memories that Sasuke had tried so hard to recall. The three boys. The barrage of bullets. Then blood. Lots and lots of blood. He remembered tearing into the flesh of people who used to be comrades with. The flashbacks started to come quicker and more clear. He became so engrossed in his memories that Naruto's voice became lost in the background.

Naruto waited patiently as Sasuke absorbed the information that he was giving him. It was painful to watch. He could read Sasuke's body language almost as well as Sakura could. Naruto could tell that Sasuke was a huge jumble of negative emotions. He was distraught, angry, sad, and confused.

"What did Orochimaru say about this?" Sasuke managed to ask.

"No idea. No one can find him." Naruto hated to be the one to tell Sasuke all the bad news.

Sasuke's head shot up from its formerly low position. "What do you mean?"

In order to figure out what was wrong with Sasuke they had originally contacted Orochimaru to see if he could figure out what caused this. When the scientist didn't answer his phone they were forced to search for him. They were astounded to find that his lab had caught fire. The entire building was destroyed, the only thing that remained were a few pieces of warped metal.

After coming up with nothing at the lab they went to check the apartment where Orochimaru had lived for the past few years, only to find that it had been turned upside down. They place was a mess. Clothes and old documents littered the floor, even a lamp was knocked over in someone's rush to leave. But Orochimaru wasn't the only one. Kabuto's apartment was just as deserted.

"He ran away. Stripped his apartment, burned his lab, and took off to who knows where," Naruto growled.

Sasuke was stunned. Then Orochimaru knew what would happen to him and ran away before he could be captured and brought in for questioning. He was being used. Did Orochimaru ever have any intention of helping him? He felt like an idiot. The thing that he wanted was exactly the opposite of what Orochimaru had done. He was turned into more of a monster than he was before. He should have listened to Sakura and never gone through with any of this.

Then a sudden realization struck him almost as hard as a physical blow.

Where was Sakura? Shouldn't she be here with Naruto?

A cold sweat began to form on his brow. A fear like nothing he had ever experienced made him almost sick. Another memory suddenly came to him, this one was much blurrier and blotchy than the rest. Pink. He was chasing someone. When the memory came to an end he saw red. Blood.

"Where is Sakura?" Sasuke's voice cracked. Naruto bit his lip and didn't answer.

No. He didn't. He wouldn't. There was no way he would ever attack Sakura.

But Naruto's silence told him a different story.

* * *

Ino was walking down the halls of the hospital. It felt like she had spent more time here than she was at her own home these past few days. She grit her teeth and clutched a bouquet of flowers close to her chest. But no matter how tired she was of this place she would still keep coming back as long as she was needed.

Ino paused outside of one of the room doors. She took a few deep breaths to prepare herself before knocking on the door. There was no response from the other side. After knocking again, she opened the door.

She gasped and nearly dropped the flowers. "Sakura!"

Sakura had been looking out the window and was startled when her name was shouted. "What are you doing out of bed?!" Ino shouted, "You shouldn't be out and about just yet!" Sakura had a few bandages wrapped around her head and a few bruises on her arms and torso but otherwise looked alright.

"But I was bored," Sakura replied innocently. Ino threw the flowers on a nearby table and ran up to her friend to gently coax her back into bed.

"You have a fractured skull and a broken rib," Ino reminded her, "Getting up must not have been a painless experience."

Sakura frowned slightly and slid back into the small hospital bed. Moving did bother her some but the pain was tolerable. Now that Sakura was tucked safely back in bed, Ino moved around the room to throw away the old flowers to replace them with the new ones.

"Ino? It is Ino, right?" Sakura asked timidly.

Said girl whirled around with widened eyes. "You remember?!"

Sakura's face scrunched slightly in concentration. "I think so. I know you came by yesterday and maybe the day before."

Ino set down the newly freshened flowers and sat down on the bed near Sakura's legs. "Yes I did. That's an improvement. At least now you're retaining short term memories. The doctors said that's a good sign."

"We…we were friends for a long time right?"

Ino smiled at her, "Yeah, since we were kids."

Sakura gripped the thin hospital blanket between her fingers as she struggled to remember more. "If we're best friends then why can't I remember more about you?" She was frustrated. Since she had woken up in the hospital a few days before with most of her memories gone. There were huge gaps in her memory causing her to spend most of her time confused. She knew some basic things like how to perform daily functions but she couldn't remember how old she was or what her parent's names were.

When her parents first came to check on her she recognized them but couldn't exactly remember where she knew them from. After talking with them and finding out that they were her parents she felt bad. How could she forget people as important as that?

Ino was next to come by and Sakura had no clue who she was. Ino had burst into tears at first but had settled down some when Sakura's mother had comforted her. After that Ino had visited as much as she could to try to help Sakura with her new predicament.

A few other people stopped by who all had to be reintroduced. Some of them were more familiar than others but she couldn't really remember much about any of them.

As the days went by her memories slowly were coming back to her. Random bits of information would suddenly pop into her brain. Like she suddenly knew that Ino's favorite color was purple and that the doctor that was caring for her was her aunt.

"Hey, it's okay. You had a pretty traumatic head injury, memory loss is pretty common with those," Ino said. Ino was smiling and put on a happy expression but she was just as upset and worried as Sakura was, "The doctors said that your memory will come back eventually."

"But what if somethings gets left behind? What if I forget something important?" Sakura said. She was afraid, so afraid. She knew that something was missing, she could feel it in her gut. But she couldn't remember what it was!

Ino didn't know what to say. No one knew how much Sakura would actually remember or how long it would take. She placed her hand on top of Sakura's clenched fist as she started to tear and sniffle. Ino had to try her hardest to comfort her friend without bursting into tears herself.

**A/N: A guest reviewer asked when this would be updated. I try to update at least once a month. And in case it wasn't obvious if you have a question and review as a guest I have no way of contacting you with an answer. I'm more than willing to answer any questions you guys have just leave a review (with your pen name) or PM me.**

**Also has anyone heard of a website called ? From what I understand they host writing contests. Some random person PMed me and told me to enter my other story since only completed stories can be submitted. That person had no info on their bio and no stories written or favorited so I think they're just trying to advertise this website. I thought about entering just for fun since I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't place but I wanted to know if anyone else heard about it.**

**Thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Chained is now 1 year old! I'd like to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed my story, who fav/followed, and reviewed. Thanks so much everyone. Happy Holidays! Here is my gift to all of you!**

**Chapter 20**

Sasuke was slumped over in his cell, the only thing keeping him upright were the chains attached to his wrists. When Naruto told him that Sakura was hurt and he didn't know much about her condition, Sasuke went into a daze. He still didn't believe what had happened. How could he attack so many people? And Sakura?

Naruto looked on sadly at his best friend. He knew that revealing what had happened that night was going to be a difficult thought for Sasuke to swallow.

"I'll get you some more food," Naruto said, not knowing what else to do. It had been more than a day since the attack and by the looks of it Sasuke hadn't eaten anything. It took him a while to scrounge around to find something for Sasuke to eat. Snacks from the vending machine wasn't very nourishing but that was all he could find. Naruto frowned at the bag of chips, candy bar, and the bottle of water that he grabbed. And Sasuke doesn't even like candy.

When he got back to the cage he saw that Sasuke's hadn't moved an inch. Luckily he had managed to steal one of keys that unlocked Sasuke's cage. No one expected anyone to try to free Sasuke so there wasn't any security around it.

After fiddling with the ring of keys Naruto finally managed to unlock the cell door. The next step was to unlock the shackles that kept Sasuke's arms suspended. "Why are there so many keys?" Naruto complained after trying and failing to unlock the shackles. "I bet we don't even have this many locks." Finally, he was rewarded with the click of the tumblers turning in the lock. With the shackles no longer holding him up Sasuke slumped to the ground.

"Here it's not much but it's all I could find." Naurto held out the bag of chips to him. Sasuke looked up at him blankly but didn't move. It took more coaxing from Naruto to finally get Sasuke to take the bag from him and start eating.

Naruto smiled as Sasuke ate but it was an empty smile. He was glad that his friend wasn't going to starve to death but it was obvious that Sasuke was hardly paying attention to anything around him. Sasuke went through the motions of eating but he wasn't tasting anything. He chewed and swallowed but his mind didn't register the taste of food. Even the sickly sweat candy that normally repulsed him was eaten.

"Hey!"

Naruto jumped at the loud voice and Sasuke didn't flinch while drinking the water. A man in his full hunter attire came stomping towards them.

"What the fuck are you doing?! No one is allowed down here!" the guard shouted.

Naruto glared at him and stood up. "Someone's got to feed him since you're obviously not doing your job." He and the guard glared at each other. Naruto scoffed and looked away. "Fine." He walked out of the cell and slammed the door behind him.

The guard glanced at a motionless Sasuke. He saw that the shackles were undone but he wasn't about to go in there and put them back on. He took the ring of keys from Naruto and followed him out.

Even with the guard following him closely he missed Naruto's mischievous grin. Naruto looked back and grinned. It was clear that these people who were supposed to guard Sasuke didn't want to be near him and stayed as far away as possible. No one would notice that when he left he conveniently left Sasuke's cell door unlocked.

No one else visited Sasuke for the rest of the day or the next. He half expected Naruto to come back but perhaps the guards had kept him out. No one was supposed to visit him anyway. Part of him wanted to know more about what happened that night, but the other cowardly part of him didn't want to know.

But what if Sakura was really hurt, then he couldn't just sit here. He was unsure of what to do. He wanted to see her, but at the same time he felt like he couldn't face her. Sasuke growled angrily and clenched his fists, he was all twisted up inside. No matter how hard he tried he always seemed to cause her more trouble.

After pondering what to do for hours he finally decided that he was going to see her no matter what. He had to know how she was doing and to tell her how sorry he was.

If he had been in his right mind he would have never attacked her. And he hoped that she knew that. Sakura loved him, she had told him countless times. And even if he didn't say it often she knew that he felt the same. Sasuke began to think of all the things they had been through together. This was just another obstacle for them, and once he explained to her what happened then he knew that she would forgive him. Now he wanted to see her more than he was afraid. But to do that he had to get out of the cell that had been his home for the past few days.

He pressed his hand on the wall behind him to support him while he tried to stand. Being immobile for so long had made his legs weak. Sasuke rested against the wall, giving his body a chance to recoup and for the blood to begin cycling through his legs.

The first few steps were shaky but he was able to recover quickly. Now the hardest part was going to be getting out of the cell. Sasuke was not expecting the door to simply swing open with hardly any effort. For the first time since he woke up, Sasuke smiled. He would have to thank Naruto for this, and probably treat him to some ramen.

* * *

Sakura was finally released from the hospital after the doctors said she was steadily recovering. She was not allowed to do any strenuous activity for a while but she was free to go home. Her memory was still spotty, only a few bits and pieces of her past came to her but it was nothing of true importance.

Certain things seemed to trigger her memory, like when her mom had brought her some _dango_ and claimed that it was her favorite she had a sudden flashback of eating the same treat as a child. At first she was a little upset. Why remember something useless like that? Why couldn't she remember something important? But after thinking more about it she realized that it may be a good thing. She remembered something of nonimportance now but it was a sign that her memories weren't lost forever.

Sakura leisurely walked around the backyard of her house. Only her father was home and he was extremely worried about her and tried to help her with every little thing. Her mother was the same way when she was around. Their doting was becoming a bit overwhelming and it took her a while to convince them that she was capable of going outside on her own. She knew that they were concerned but she could still function without someone holding onto her hand the whole time.

It was also a little bit uncomfortable for her. She knew that they were her parents but the bond between them just wasn't there. She could feel that they loved her deeply but it was still a bit awkward to get hugged by someone she only had a few vague memories of.

Sakura frowned and kicked a small stone across the yard. She wanted to love them back as much as they loved her but it felt like something in her brain just wasn't connecting. They loved her and she knew that at one point she loved them back just as much but she just couldn't remember. Everyone told her to be patient, that her memories would come back in time. But she wanted them back now! They didn't understand that she felt incomplete, defective. Something was missing.

The stone had landed in a patch of flowers that grew at the edge of her yard. Her eyes followed the bouncing rock as it and stared at the bright yellow petals that now obscured her original target. Suddenly she remembered walking around picking the flowers as a gift for her mother. Sakura envisioned a herself as a child bending down to pick a flower and jumping back up to look for another perfect flower. But the flowers were knocked out of her hand when something crashed into her. She was mad because her elbow hurt and she had crushed some of the flowers when she fell. But she forgot about her rage when she saw a small boy lying next to her. He was dirty and scared. She tried to focus on him but the harder she tried the more blurred his image became.

When she blinked the child like version of herself and the frightened boy disappeared. Who was that? All of her friends had visited her in the hospital at one time or another but none of them resembled the little boy from her memories. She knelt down and picked one of the flowers and inspected it closely. She concentrated hard on the memory, willing more to resurface. But she couldn't recall anything after that. With a defeated sigh she began to spin the flower between her fingers. She watched the petals swirl back and forth. Patience. She had to be patient the memories would come in time.

A rusting of leaves and the sound of footsteps pulled her attention away from the flower. Her eyes widened at the sight of a pale shirtless boy with dark hair and eyes. He stopped at the edge if the forest, panting and out of breath.

It was him! She was sure of it. He was much older now, but she was sure that he was the boy from her memory!

* * *

Escaping his prison was much easier than Sasuke had expected. there was hardly anyone around. So much for guarding him. He easily slipped past the one hunter that was dozing against the wall and disappeared into the forest; he wanted to keep a low profile before they tried to catch and cage him again. Hopefully no one would check on him for a while buying him enough time to find Sakura.

It would be too difficult to sneak into the hospital so he decided to check for her at home first. He wasn't sure how many days had passed since the attack but hopefully Sakura was well enough to be released. And that would mean that she wasn't too badly injured. He hoped that she was home.

He ran nonstop until he reached her house, his body automatically knowing the way. By the time he reached the forest edge he was exhausted.

Then he saw her.

Standing in the yard holding a small flower in her hand. And she was alive. There was a bandage wrapped around her forehead but other than that she looked perfectly fine. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

But something was off. As he stepped out of the bush there was no greeting, no smile. He was so sure that she would have been happy to see him. But then, if she was more or less alright why hadn't she visited him? Was she upset at him?

Her eyes widen as he began to walk towards her. The flower slipped from her fingers and she started to scream. Her arms move up to the side of her head and her hands grip her hair tightly.

Sasuke was in shock. He froze mid step when Sakura suddenly started screaming. She sunk to the ground her knees crumpling beneath her. He didn't know what to do, he didn't understand. Why was she screaming? Was she hurt? He began to run towards her.

"No!"

Sasuke stopped when she began to yell.

"No! No! Go away!"

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was wrong. The world seemed to fall away around him. He had hoped that she would understand, counted on it. But she was scared and hurt, he could tell by the way she curled in upon herself and started to shake.

He approached her slowly and knelt down in front of her. Sadness began to overwhelm him. Her screaming stopped but he could clearly hear her crying and whimpering. He wanted to hold her, to make things right. But he didn't know if she would let him.

"Sakura?" he asked gently. Sasuke reached for her but stopped when she recoiled and began to whimper louder. He pulled back his hand and watched her. "I'm sorry," his voice cracked a little. "I didn't mean it. You know I wouldn't hurt you on purpose." Sasuke was never good with words but now that was all he had to go by. And even that didn't seem to work.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. But Sakura was ignoring him. He was at a loss; he couldn't do anything. Sakura didn't even want to look at him. There was so much more he wanted to tell her but the words just seemed to get clogged in his throat. He stood up and began to back away slowly. This was one thing that Sasuke had been afraid of all his life. He had messed up and made mistakes but he always had Sakura beside him. But now he didn't even have that.

_I love you_

Something he doesn't think he ever told her leaked past his lips, but she wasn't listening. Each step away from her made his chest constrict painfully. He didn't want to go, but he couldn't stay. He heard the back door slam open and saw Kizashi standing there. For the first time since his parent's death he felt tears sliding down his face.

With one last look at Sakura he turned around and sprinted as fast as he could back into the forest. He could hear Kizashi shouting something but he ignored him. After what he did Kizashi would never let him near Sakura again. If he was in Kizashi's shoes he would do the same.

Sasuke kept on running with no destination in mind. He leaped over a fallen log and transformed in midair. That was the fastest transformation he had ever accomplished in his life and he did it without much thought. But he didn't care he just needed to run.

When Sasuke finally stopped he realized that he had reached the clearing where the sprites had made their home. The same place he wanted to show Sakura but now would never have the chance. He must have been running for quite a while since it was now dark and the moon was high in the sky. Sasuke collapsed near the small spring and began to drink. When he had his fill he lay there collecting his thoughts.

What would he do now? He had nowhere to go, that place was the only home he knew. It was like he was a child again; lost, confused, and all alone. But this time there was no Sakura to comfort him. His chest contracted painfully again. Sakura wouldn't be there for him ever again. And it was all his fault. His ears flattened against his head and he began to whimper sadly.

_I'll be with you from now on._

It was a child's promise but it was something that meant the world to him. And Sakura had kept it, up until he fucked everything up.

Angry chittering began to fill the forest. Sasuke flinched when a stone connected with the back of his head. He whirled around to see the tree tops filled with upset sprites. They glared at him and began shouting and throwing sticks and stones. He tucked his tail between his legs and dodged the projectiles being thrown at him. Even they didn't want him here.

Sasuke was forced to run even farther. After he could no longer hear the sprites cries he stopped and looked back. He imagined Sakura standing near her home smiling at him. Something he would never see again. His body slouched and he turned away and began walking, his tail dragging in the dirt. With a heavy heart he left everything behind him.

* * *

When she saw him the face of the child she just remembered became clear. Then one after another more scenes played before her eyes. He was always in them, always with her. But who was he exactly. She couldn't remember.

The scenes came faster and faster and melted together in a blur of color and sounds. Her head started to throb. It felt like her skull was going to explode!

Unable to stand the pain anymore she gripped her head and fell to the ground. She wanted the memories to stop, to make the pain go away. But she wanted to know, she had to know who the boy was. Something told her it was important. But it hurt. Finally, the images slowed down so she could make some sense of them. She saw the boy transform into a wolf then back again. He was a werewolf, and she had stood by him the whole time.

Why wasn't she scared? As far as she knew werewolves were one of the most fearsome monsters to come across. She didn't understand.

Kizashi had heard Sakura scream and hurried as fast as he could to get outside. He cursed his frailness that slowed his movement. He slammed the door open and his eyes widened at the scene before him. His daughter crumpled on the ground and Sasuke standing before her.

At first he had been enraged when he had first heard what happened to his daughter. He always knew that he couldn't trust Sasuke and he was upset with himself that he had even considered trusting him. This is exactly what he had been fearing ever since he was forced onto their family.

But he quickly changed his mind. He'd known Sasuke since he was a child and he never saw him make such an anguished expression before. So sad. So heartbroken. Was he wrong? Was everything that happened truly an accident.

Did Sasuke actually love his daughter?

Before he could question the boy himself, Sasuke bolted.

"Sasuke wait! Come back!" Kizashi shouted. But Sasuke kept going, he didn't even turn around when Kizashi called. Kizashi felt bad for him. He could only imagine what had happened between them before he arrived. But Sakura would always be his first priority.

"Sakura?" he called quietly and sat down next to her where she lay sobbing and clutching her head. When she didn't respond he slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. "It's going to be okay," he said trying to comfort her. He hadn't held her like this since she was a child. Kizashi began to rub soothing circles on her back as her crying began to slow.

Sakura could feel her father hugging her and this time she drew comfort from it. It was much nicer than the last memory that was replaying in her head.

The boy from her memory had transformed again. But this time it was much larger and scarier than before. She could clearly remember the gruesome scene that she had found. The bloodied monster surrounded by mutilated corpses. Then it turned to attack her.

Out of all the memories to come back to her this one was the clearest, the most real. And it frightened her. She was so scared. She didn't want this memory, she wanted it to stay forgotten.

It took a long time for Sakura to finally calm down. Her body still shivered occasionally and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Kizashi sat with her in the grass the whole time, doing his best to provide what comfort he could and feeling helpless at the same time.

After the memories subsided and most of the pain had faded Sakura looked up trying to find the boy that had triggered her memories. But he was gone, and something constricted in her chest. Even if she was scared and confused by the memories that he triggered, part of her wanted him to come back.

* * *

That night Sakura sat down with her parents and asked who that boy was. He was in so many of her memories that he had to have been a huge part if her life. She wasn't particularly surprised when her parents told her that he had been living with them since she was little. She knew from her memories that he was a werewolf but it was still a little astonishing when her parents explained it to her.

"Was he my boyfriend?" she asked.

Her parents shared a look but shrugged. "You two went to the dance together." Was her mom's only response. She had a few memories of them kissing but her parent's probably didn't know about it.

"But he attacked me. And he looked different than before. It was scary," Sakura recalled the form he had taken in her last memory. Her hand gently touched the back of her head where the injury was. That was why she was hurt, how she lost her memory.

"No one is sure what happened or why he transformed into that. He was supposed to be in captivity but I guess he escaped," Kizashi explained.

"Is he going to be alright? Can we fix him?" Sakura asked. She was worried about him and had so many questions.

"I'm sure he'll be back," her father tried to reassure her.

It was three days since then and no one had seen Sasuke since. The association had increased security and had scouts stationed around the area to look for him. Sakura knew that they weren't actively searching for him. Most of them could care less if he was found, they just wanted to make sure that they were ready in case he tried to attack them. And that thought made Sakura sad. From her memories she could tell he was quiet, preferred solitude, and was kind of grumpy. But he had a good heart.

Sakura sat in the little house that her parents had told her belonged to Sasuke. She sat on his bed hugging her knees to her chest and resting her head on top of them. Closing her eyes, she tried to recall more about him. Over the last few days she tried to revisit the memories that flashed through her mind too quickly for her to comprehend. Most times she only managed to give herself a headache, but occasionally the memory came back much slower so she could really see it.

Being here in this room seemed to help her recall the memories more smoothly. She remembered laying here with him kissing, and being much more intimate. We're they lovers? Her parents said that he would come back for sure but it had already been a few days and she began to doubt that he would return.

With more and more memories slowly returning she should feel happy, but she wasn't. Sakura absentmindedly reached up and rubbed her neck where a peculiar scar was. Something was missing, and she couldn't place it. She felt empty inside.

Tears started to fall from her eyes. Why was she crying? Before she knew it she was sobbing and she didn't know why.

* * *

Sasuke didn't know how long he had been wandering. He slept where ever he fell and he hardy ate or drank anything. There was no true destination in mind besides just going forward. He was lost and not only in the directional sense of the word.

He had no purpose, no drive to live. This was worse than when his family was killed. At least he had Sakura to lean on then. But this time he had nothing.

Had he been in his right mind he would have noticed that he was walking into danger. He was trespassing on another wolf's territory but he had missed all the markers and signs. If he had been paying attention he also would have heard someone sneaking up on him.

Something came shooting out from the darkness and slammed into him hard. Sasuke felt claws digging into his side and teeth closing around his shoulders. He twisted and snarled at his attacker who hung on tightly. Blood dripped down his shoulder and wet his fur.

He was tired and for a second thought about letting himself get killed. But then Sakura's face flashed before him. He couldn't die, not yet. Even if he had run away, he still wanted to see her. Even if she was afraid of him. Just seeing her from afar would be enough. He would go back to see her, one day.

Sasuke whirled around and bit down on his opponent's leg making them cry out and let go. The two of them quickly separated and faced each other. Sasuke crouched low to the ground and snarled at him. Not yet. He wouldn't roll over and die just yet.

The two circled each other, each waiting for the other to strike first. Sasuke's attacker was another large black wolf. He hadn't seen another wolf since he was a small child. It would have been nice if this one wasn't trying to kill him.

They both growled and bared their fangs at one another. Then suddenly the other wolf stopped growling and tilted his head curiously at him. It sniffed the air cautiously, taking in his scent.

To Sasuke's amazement the wolf's ears lowered and his tail began to wag furiously. This sudden change of attitude confused Sasuke. Now it was happy to see him?

The strange wolf bounded up to him and began to whine happily. Sasuke's ears shot up in alarm and he stiffened up when the other wolf began to nuzzle his side and his uninjured shoulder. It was acting like it knew him.

Sasuke sniffed the other wolf now that they were close and no longer at each other's throats. The scent was warm and achingly familiar.

Then realization hit him like a speeding truck. He returned the whines and began to nuzzle and lick the other wolf's muzzle happily.

He knew this scent almost as well as he did his own. Sasuke knew that he should have recognized it instantly but he never expected the dead to return to him. He would have never dreamed that his brother would have escaped the slaughter of his family.

Itachi was alive. Sasuke was filled with a happiness that was almost alien to him. He could hardly remember a time he felt so elated. His brother was alive; he couldn't believe it.

Itachi broke away and began to walk away from him. He looked over his shoulder and tossed his head, indicating for him to follow. Sasuke was ready to bound after him with an almost puppy like eagerness but he stopped mid step. He turned around and gazed back in the direction he came from. His brother was alive and he was no longer the last one remaining of his old pack. But now he would be leaving behind Sakura and all the friends he had made.

Sasuke was torn. He wanted to follow his brother but another part of him wanted to turn back. He didn't want to leave Sakura but he couldn't go back, not after what had happened.

Itachi padded back to him and pressed his side against his. It comforted him, he missed his brother's touch. With a deep sigh he lowered his head and began to walk forward, going farther away from where he really wanted to be.

**A/N: So much drama, I hoped you all enjoyed it. Now for some bad news. This was originally where I was going to end the first story but since most of you preferred one long story this chapter marks the end of Part stories or one I was planning on taking a small break between them. I'm not going to put this story on 'hiatus' because technically I'll still be working on it. After taking a few weeks break I'm going to reread what I have so far then start on part 2. **

**I already have most of part 2 figured out but there are a lot of things that I'm not sure of. Before I start releasing chapters I want to make sure that I know what I'm doing and the story is progressing how I want it to. I would hate to release them quickly then realize that it wasn't what I wanted and I would have to make major revisions and redo chapters. That makes it confusing for both me and my readers. My goal is also to be at least a chapter a head of what I'm posting (I doubt I can do it but I'll try) that means faster updates if I can keep it up. **

**I don't plan to be MIA for too long. Expect me back in about 2 months. Thank you everyone who reads this story and I hope you loved part 1! See you soon!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Sasuke was in heaven. He was content, cuddling with Sakura in one of his favorite spots in the forest. The trees parted just enough to give them a clear view of the star speckled sky. Sasuke lay curled around Sakura, his eyes closed in content and his tail drummed the ground happily as Sakura showered him with affection. She repeatedly stroked his neck and back with an occasional scratch behind the ear. When she would bend down to kiss his forehead he would let out a happy whine.

An earsplitting scream caused Sasuke to jump and open his eyes. He immediately noticed that Sakura was missing. Sasuke looked around franticly, but there was no trace of her. There was another scream and this time he recognized it as Sakura's.

He took off in direction of the scream, running as fast as he possible could; never noticing that the world was melting away until he was surrounded by endless darkness. He kept on running until two figures suddenly appeared before of him. Sasuke froze and stared fearfully at the scene before him. A bloody Sakura lay pinned beneath a mirror image of himself. Sakura feebly raised a hand toward him. Tears began to trickle down her face, mixing with the blood. Sasuke tried to rush over to her, to save her, but he couldn't move. No matter how hard he struggled his body remained immobile. With a terrible roar the monster reached down and closed its jaws around her throat.

Sasuke awoke in an instant. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest and beads of sweat drip down his face. This was a reoccurring nightmare that refused to go away. He threw the covers off and sat up, hunching over so that his elbows rested on his knees with his head resting in his hands. The final image of the dream was burned into his memory.

"It's not real," he whispered, "it's not real." His hand reached up to touch the base if his neck. Sometimes he would try to feel the chain that he wore for the majority of his life. He used to hate it before but now he longed for the reassurance that there was something to keep him in check. It was also comforting to know that Sakura held the counterpart to his chain. His other half. But now there was nothing.

It took him a few minutes for him to calm down. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was only 5 in the morning, the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet. But there was no way that he was going to be getting any more sleep. After freshening up, Sasuke left his room and entered the open area of the little apartment he shared with his brother. At first he thought of making some breakfast but the idea didn't last long. That dream killed any appetite he might have had. Instead he turned on the coffee maker and sat at the old wooden table that stood in the middle of the kitchen area. While waiting for the coffee to brew, Sasuke's mind began to drift.

It had been five years since he left. Five years since he saw Sakura or any of his friends. He still missed her and he probably always would. There was a gaping hole in his heart that would never go away. While he was glad to have his brother around, it just wasn't the same Sakura. It was as if he was incomplete, and important part of him was missing. Drowning out the horrors of his dreams with fonder memories, he began to reminisce about the past.

He was startled when a cup of hot coffee was placed in front of him.

"Can't sleep again?" Itachi asked and took the chair across from his younger brother. Sasuke glanced at the window to see the sun peeking through the drapes. He hadn't noticed how much time had gone by. "Are you going to be okay for the job tonight?"

Sasuke nodded, "I'll just try to catch a few more hours of sleep this afternoon."

The two brothers had been helping eradicate the sudden rising number of vampires in the area, After the near extinction of their pack, Itachi had escaped and ran into a rather odd group of mercenaries that were all too willing to bring a lone werewolf into their ranks. They called themselves the Akatsuki, a bunch of rebels that killed dangerous creatures as well as humans that had accumulated a high enough bounty. Their strange little gang was composed of both humans and other mythical beings. When Sasuke came along a few years back they accepted him too.

"That might be a bit difficult," Itachi gave him a small smile, "Some of the other guys are coming over for a briefing later."

Sasuke groaned. That meant that they were coming over to raid their fridge while being as noisy as possible. They might fit in a quick summary of what they had planned on their way out the door. Itachi's smile faded as he watched his brother, Sasuke had been depressed since the day that the brothers had been reunited. Sometimes he would be distracted or he would hide it really well, but the sadness and loneliness was always there. The negative feelings followed him like a shadow.

Itachi had been shocked to learn that his little brother had mated with a human, and a hunter in-training of all things. He had been angry when he found out that Sasuke had been experimented on and sad at the circumstances that forced him and his mate apart. Itachi tried to be there to comfort his brother as much as he could but there would never be anything that could fill the void in Sasuke's heart.

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked.

"As good as I can get," Sasuke replied.

Itachi ruffled Sasuke's hair. "Everything will be alright."

Every time Sasuke was in one of his moods, Itachi would tell him the same thing. Sasuke knew that he was just telling him that to try to make him feel just a little bit better. Even if he didn't fully believe it, he clung onto that belief and hoped it would be true.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and Sasuke was back in bed. But of course, he barely managed an hour of sleep before the door to the apartment burst open and the air was filled with loud chatter. Sasuke groaned and turned over to lie on his stomach. He covered his head with the pillow but even that couldn't stifle the voices drifting in from the other room. Cursing and mumbling under his breath, Sasuke abandoned his bed and went out to join them. There was no way he was going to be able to get any sleep now, so he might as well see who was there. And just maybe they would actually have a real briefing.

Who was he kidding?

Sasuke's frown deepened when he saw who was relaxing on the couch in his apartment. There was Kisame, his brothers weird friend. He was some kind of weird kappa demon hybrid. Sasuke didn't want to imagine how that happened. Kappa were small water demons but Kisame was huge with extremely pointed teeth. He was an expert weapon smith that had a knack for integrating demonic power into weapon materials. Kisame wasn't overly chatty but he had a snarky attitude. And smelled slightly of fish.

The next visitor was a fire demon. Deidara was a powerful fire demon that was very fond of explosions. No one was really sure what Deidara's true form looked like because he had found and possessed a young artist years ago and never left the body. He looked like an average blonde haired young man, all except for the two gaping mouths on the palm of each hand. Sasuke couldn't stand Deidara, he was loud, obnoxious, and his hands were kind of creepy. The two mouths could vomit out a clay like substance that Deidara could detonate on command. Gross.

The final invader was a smaller man named Sasori. He was normally on the quiet side but he was very impatient and argued almost constantly with the loud Deidara. Sasori was human, but he was a very powerful witchdoctor. He enjoyed snaring souls and trapping them in wooden puppets. The trapped souls would animate the puppets and allow them to move on their own. Sasori was also skilled in poisons and curses. Sasuke noticed that he always smelt of wood. At first he thought that it was because he was always repairing and tinkering with his puppets, but the smell never seemed to go away. Perhaps he had put his own soul into a puppet? It was something Sasuke didn't want to dwell on.

"Hey look who it is," Kisame jeered. Sasuke scowled at them. They probably knew that he was trying to take a nap and woke him up on purpose. "You ready for tonight princess?" The sharkman's joke caused Deidara to laugh obnoxiously. He couldn't understand how his brother was friends with these people.

"I'm hungry," Sasori stated, then looked blankly at Sasuke as if expecting him to feed him.

"Me too," Deidara raised his hand as if he was participating in a classroom discussion.

Sasuke was about to tell them all to fuck off when his brother came into the room with a bag of food. It smelled like Chinese. "Want some?" Itachi offered some to Sasuke.

He didn't want to be around these guys but his hunger was a bit stronger than his annoyance for now. With a sigh he sat down next to a snickering Deidara.

* * *

After putting up with the other members of the Akatsuki for a couple of hours the five of them headed out to the destination of their next assignment. The local vampires were becoming rowdy again. Over time they were becoming more and more active, attacking people and increasing their population. But the population was fluctuating. While they only killed a few of them the numbers would drop drastically at seemingly random intervals. Large numbers of vampires were leaving the area for an unknown reason. Their job tonight was to try and find out why.

Most times the vampires picked up their victims at night, normally at night clubs, bars, and other similar places. So they were going to stake out a local club and see if one of the 'recruiters' were out, and hopefully catch one so they can interrogate them.

Sasuke wasn't a fan of clubs, they were full of loud music and people. Not to mention the smells were a bit overwhelming. Unfortunately, he had been visiting them more frequently as the number of attacks began to increase. Once in the dark bar, the group split up. Sasuke didn't pay attention to where the others went and headed straight to the bar.

He avoided eye contact with the other bar patrons and ordered a drink. While he needed to be functional incase things got messy, he really needed a drink. And a strong one. When he had first arrived in this town the pain of his separation was still overwhelming. He tried the common, 'lose yourself in alcohol' a few times to try to deal with the pain, but it didn't work. While he felt a little better at the time, the day after was brutal. Not only was he still depressed but he would be sick on top of that. And it wasn't like he and his brother had a lot of money either. After those few attempts he hardly drank in large quantities.

He heard loud boisterous laughter and looked over his shoulder to see Kisame and Deidara laughing and taking some kind of colorful shots. Sasori watched them with a blank expression, which seemed to amuse them all the more.

Sasuke shook his head and looked away from them. They needed to blend in but they were taking it a bit too far. And Itachi seemed to have disappeared entirely.

"You here by yourself?"

A young woman with pale skin and long dark hair sat sown on the stool next to him. Sasuke ignored her and took another sip of his drink. He had women hitting on him more often than he would like. It was annoying. Some were more persistent than others and wouldn't leave him alone no matter how much disinterest he showed. And it looked like that was one of those girls. Even after flat out ignoring her question, she still gazed at him with a sultry smile on her face.

"Aww someone having a bad day?" she cooed, running her finger down his arm. Sasuke slapped her hand away and glared at her. She giggled at him, his angry glare hardly bothered her.

"Go away," Sasuke growled. But she didn't listen, instead she scooted her stool closer to him. Sasuke could practically feel his hackles rising as the girl got closer to him. The perfume she was wearing was really strong and irritated his nose.

"What's a good looking guy like you doing here all alone? Maybe I can make you feel better." She leaned in further making Sasuke recoil. He pushed away from the bar and swiftly walked away, pushing aside tipsy bar goers that stood in his way.

This just wasn't his day. Things were going from depressing to angry and now annoying. But then again, that was the three emotions that Sasuke felt almost constantly for years now. He left the loud crowded bar and walked around the corner to lean against the building. He could still hear the pounding base of the club music and smell the musty scent of too many people jammed into a small space. He left to get some fresh air, to try to calm down before he snapped and punched that girl in the face.

Ever since he left any interaction with girls that were _overly friendly_ left a bad taste in his mouth. He had no interest in anyone of the opposite sex besides Sakura. He immediately felt himself begin to spiral down back into the depression he was in earlier. Somehow his thoughts always came back to her. He had learned to live with it by now, but somedays were harder than others.

"Oh there you are!" The disgustingly sweet voice of the girl from earlier made Sasuke groan. "You left so quickly I thought that I wouldn't be able to find you."

Sasuke scowled at her as she jogged over to him bringing with her the pungent smell of perfume. "Maybe that was the point."

She laughed, "You're so silly." The two of them stood there in silence, Sasuke glowering and the girl smiling. "I can tell you aren't happy; I can see it in your eyes." She slowly stepped closer.

Sasuke was intrigued. Most people couldn't read him that easily. She raised her hand to his face and brushed his cheek with the back of her hand.

_Cold_

Sasuke ripped her hand away from his face and held her wrist tightly. "Don't touch me," he growled.

But she didn't back away. She smiled. "I can give you what you want. Change your life forever."

Then everything clicked together. This girl wasn't what he originally thought. She wasn't trying to lure him into her bed, but she had something else in mind entirely. He noticed that her skin was icy cold, much too chilled for such a warm night.

"Maybe you can give me what I want," Sasuke smirked at her, his eyes bleeding to a blood red. The girl gasped and tried to pull away from him, but Sasuke held on to her wrist.

"Let me go!" she tugged franticly to escape.

"What are you planning? Where is your coven sending all those vampires?" This girl was a vampire. He hadn't noticed it at first. The dim lighting of the club hid just how pale her skin really was. And the strong perfume she was wearing was masking the scent that normal vampires had. They're scent was stale and musty, very different than a mortal's.

Now that her cover had been blown the girl no longer had to hide what she was. Her eyes turned a similar shade of red and long pointed fangs grew out of her mouth. Using her free hand, she slashed at him with deadly claws.

Sasuke was caught off guard, not expecting her to suddenly attack. Her talons raked across his shoulder and chest creating deep gouges in his flesh. But she didn't stop there, she hissed at him and lunged at him with her long fangs bared.

Before she could sink her fangs into him, he swiftly punched her in the gut. The blow winded her and knocked her backward. The vampire leaned heavily against the wall gasping deeply to recover the oxygen she just lost.

Sasuke could finish her now, while she was weakened. But something held him back. He flinched and raised his hand to his wound that was bleeding. Blood flowed rapidly from the deep gashes, soaking his ruined shirt.

"I'll make you pay for that," she panted. With an enraged cry she threw herself at him.

But she didn't get very far. A huge figure dropped down from above them and landed on her. She screeched and began to thrash, clawing and biting at the thing that began to constrict her movements.

"Ooohh no wonder the vamps numbers have gone up. They're using a hot chick as a recruiter."

This was the first time that Sasuke was happy to hear Deidara's annoying voice. The other members of the Akatsuki emerged from the shadows. Sasori had one hand outstretched a deep blue glow surrounding it as he controlled the wooden puppet that restrained the vampire.

"Can't you hurry up," Deidara frowned at Sasori, "She's making a racket. Shut her up already." The vampire was flailing around desperately taking chunks of wood out of Sasori's puppet. The heavy repairs he would need to make on his puppet was already putting Sasori in a bad mood. Deidara's attitude only made it worse.

Sasori's head snapped to the side to glare at the blond artist. "I don't see you doing anything."

"What you want me to do? Blow her up? I would love to, but the boss wants to interrogate her," Deidara yelled back. The two of them began to argue, their voices escalating. Kisame rolled his eyes at the two of them and chugged the rest of the drink that he had brought with him from the club. He walked over to the vampire and gave her a swift blow to the head. Her head bounced once of the ground and she stopped moving.

The loud crack of the blow drew Sasori and Deidara's attention away from each other. Deidara stared with a slightly disgusted expression. "How uncouth. Not graceful at all. This is why you can't get a woman."

"Fuck you! I don't see you doing anything, besides bitching!" roared Kisame. That started another round of arguments.

Sasuke could feel his stress levels rising again. How were these guys renown bounty hunters? They were a bunch of idiots.

"You okay?" Sasuke nearly jumped when his brother appeared by his side. His eyes widened at the sight of an unconscious male slung over his brother's shoulder. At least that explained where his brother had disappeared too. They got two of the vampire's recruiters, not bad. "That looks pretty bad." Itachi examined the lacerations on his chest.

Sasuke shrugged in response and instantly regretted it. The movement pulled at the torn skin causing more blood to flow. Itachi reacted quickly and tossed his captive at Kisame who barely caught it in time.

Before Kisame could retort Itachi spoke up, "Let's move. That girl's screams may have attracted others, and Sasuke needs medical attention." The other three suddenly became more serious and stopped their petty bickering. They restrained the two vampires with handcuffs that were inscribed with dark purple runes to drain their strength and headed back towards their vehicle. Sasuke and Itachi trailed behind them.

"Are you sure you're alright? Something must have been distracting you to have gotten injured like that. And it was Sasori who caught her even if her found her first, that's not like you." Sasuke was starting to get annoyed with his brother's concern, it was starting to become overbearing. But he couldn't get upset at him. He was only worried because he cared.

"I realized how they were turning so many new vampires. It's not kidnapping or anything like we thought it would be. They were preying on those who were depressed, those that felt like they hit rock bottom. They lied to them, drew them in with a promise of a brighter future," Sasuke began to explain, "That girl was probably the same. She was upset with her life and then someone came along and tricked her into thinking that they could change her life and make it better. I know how they feel."

Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck. He had a black tribal tattoo that ran across his shoulders and up the back of his neck. It wasn't an ordinary tattoo. Pein was the one to make it for him. Pein was the leader of the Akatsuki and a very powerful necromancer.

Besides his creepy ability to reanimate and control corpses, he was also very skilled in sealing magic. He created the handcuffs and chains that the Akatsuki uses to restrain supernatural creatures. It weakens their power and it makes it easier for them to handle.

Regrettably, the changes Orochimaru made to his body was permanent. Whenever he got extremely upset or angry he would lose control of himself. He was unstable, and needed something to ground him. To keep him detained. Sasuke had gone to Pein for help.

It worked a little. If he was pushed too far he would still transform, but it took much more rage to trigger it than before. Pein had first offered him something to wear that would suppress the beast that now rests inside of him, but Sasuke wanted something permanent. He had torn off his old necklace which was supposed to be impossible to do and he didn't want that to happen again. With a tattoo there was no way for him to remove it.

* * *

The trip to the Akatsuki main building was calm and uneventful. The two vampires stayed unconscious the entire way. The building was well disguised as a normal tower that looked exactly the same as the others that speckled the town. It was in a rather rundown area but the inside was pretty advanced.

After a few quick stiches, Sasuke was fine. The amount of blood he lost was a bit concerning, but he claimed to be fine. He wanted to be there when the vampires were interrogated. The two members of the Akatsuki that were doing the questioning were Hidan and Kakuzu. They were mortal as far as Sasuke knew, but they both were insane. They lived to cause pain in others, they reveled in it.

Rumor was that a demon ate Kakuzu's heart but he somehow managed to tear out the demon's own heart and used it to replace his own. No one ever dared to ask him if the rumor was true. And Hidan, was just a psychotic mercenary that was extremely religious. An odd pair.

He heard horror stories about what happened to the victims that crossed them. No matter how disturbing their methods, they would get the information they needed for sure.

The two vampires were kept in separate rooms adjacent to each other. Each one was restrained to a thick metal chair. And each one had an insane interrogator that would squeeze the information out of them no matter what.

Sasuke headed toward the viewing rooms. There was nothing in it but a few chairs. An entire panel was made up of a one-way glass, with a speaker set up so they could hear what was going on. When he entered the viewing room he was surprised that there was no one there. From here he could see Kakuzu standing in front of the girl who was tied to the chair.

Steal gauntlets around her wrists and ankles kept her restricted, but she still thrashed and screamed trying her hardest to escape.

"I will never tell you anything!" she screeched.

Kakuzu just stood there calmly. "But I haven't even asked you anything yet." But the girl didn't seem to hear him and kept ranting.

"After what they did for me I will never betray them." This caught Sasuke's attention. So he was right. They were targeting those who were looking for a way out. This girl was just someone who needed help and was found by the wrong people.

"Oh? Maybe I can change that," Kakuzu chuckled. He turned to the table behind him and opened up a small black pouch. It was full of various curved and barbed needles. He ran his fingers over each one until he came across one that he wanted. He plucked a long thick needle that had a bent tip out of the bag and turned back toward the victim.

Her screams made Sasuke close his eyes tightly and walk out. He knew that she wouldn't break, she would die suffering and never let a single useful word pass her lips. She wouldn't betray those who 'saved' her.

He decided to check the man his brother brought in. Maybe he had a weaker spirit. Itachi was waiting in in the other room watching the current interrogation. It seemed that Hidan had already begun and was twirling a small bloodied pike in his hand.

Sasuke nodded in greeting to Itachi who raised a hand in a small wave. "We haven't learned anything of any importance yet. But Hidan never fails, just give him time."

Hidan was chuckling to himself, clearly enjoying the interrogation. The vampire had a shallow cut going across his arm and a puncture wound in his leg. "Still not feeling talkative?"

The vampire scoffed, "You think you're so tough? If I wasn't tied, I would tear you apart you disgusting mortal." Instead of upsetting or scaring Hidan it made in laugh. "What's to funny?"

"Oh please," Hidan said after he calmed down. "Your nothing but a wimp." He stabbed the pike into the vampire's leg. The man screamed in agony. But Hidan didn't stop. He lifted the weapon slightly, just so it was removed from the man's leg, and slammed it down again.

"Stop! Stop!" The vampire cried as Hidan continued his torture. The man's begging made Hidan pause.

He twirled the weapon around and gently prodded the man's chest. Fleck of blood splattered their clothing. "Feeling a bit more cooperative now? Why create so many new vampires? Where are they being sent?"

The vampire's body shook with pain, dark blood soaked his pants and flooded the floor beneath him. "I don't know." Hidan raised the pike above his head, preparing to strike again. "Wait please! I'm just a grunt and they don't tell me much."

But that excuse wasn't good enough for the blood thirsty Hidan. He stabbed the man's hand making him scream even louder.

"Is this necessary?" Sasuke asked. The torture was making him sick., but didn't want to leave just yet. They were close to learning something important, he could feel it.

"Hidan is good at what he does," Itachi answered, "It's better to just let him do what he likes. He'll get the information we need. That vampire is already cracking.

"I promise I don't know," the man sobbed, "I'm only told to recruit as many people as possible so that the boss can complete his goal."

"Who is your boss? And what's his goal?" Hidan questioned, he left the pike in the man's hand but poked it slightly with his finger. Even that small movement caused the vampire's already sensitive nerves to explode with pain.

"I never met him," he answered quickly before Hidan could put any more weight on his weapon. But he could tell that Hidan was starting to get annoyed with his lack of useful information. He began to blurt out anything that they might consider useful, just to get the pain to stop. "I've heard others, the older ones, talking about going home. Something about taking back the land where the coven originally came from. But I'm new, I have no idea where that is."

"Fuck." It wasn't often that Itachi swore so it caught Sasuke of guard. They were learning a few new things but it wasn't enough to give them a lead. Maybe he should visit the girl again, maybe Kakuzu was making some progress.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi's shoulders slumped a little. "The largest vampire coven near here was destroyed years ago. They were attacked, and nearly all killed. This is probably the same group. Vampires are slightly territorial and there hasn't been another coven for miles around. It has to be that same one."

Sasuke's eyes widened. There used to be a vampire coven that constantly fought with his pack and the hunters back where he used to live. He remembered Sakura teaching him the history of the old pact. The vampires that survived must have escaped and were bided their time so that they could one day go back and reclaim their home. Now that the wolves were gone the area was vulnerable, a perfect opportunity for them.

They were going to attack his old home.

Where Sakura was.

**A/N: I really needed that break guys thanks for understanding, now I'm ready to get back into it. I'm not real excited about this chapter but its setting the stage for part 2. I'm sorry for those who like the Akatsuki but they're not getting much attention after this, maybe pop in every once and a while but nothing real big. Going to get a bit more exciting next chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Sasuke was torn. Part of him wanted to rush over to his old home immediately, but another part of him was scared. He wasn't afraid of fighting vampires, which was almost guaranteed, but of their reaction to his return. He left on an extremely bad note and they probably wouldn't be very happy to see him. It was more likely that he would be greeted with a wall of gunfire rather than a welcome home party.

It's been a little more than a year since the vampire population began to rise so the hunter's corporation must have been under attack for months. They won't be able to hold off on their own for much longer, they need help. He had to go. Even if he wasn't wanted, he would back them up. Even if Sakura never wanted to see him again, he would make sure that she was safe.

He didn't need to convince Pein to let him leave. It wasn't as if he was under some binding contract. But Pein did ask for him to check back with him occasionally. A growing coven was a great concern for everyone, and the Akatsuki wanted to be kept in the loop.

Sasuke didn't have much things to pack and he was ready to go in a few hours. But before he could leave the apartment Itachi stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sasuke answered, "I have to go back." Itachi nodded, he expected this was going to happen.

"At least wait until morning. Get a good rest, it's a long drive," Itachi tried to convince him. But Sasuke was impatient.

"I don't have time to wait. And I won't be able to sleep anyway." Sasuke tried to push past his brother but Itachi didn't move.

Itachi sighed, "Fine, but you should wait anyway. I need some time to pack." Sasuke furrowed his brows in confusion. "I'm not letting you go alone."

Sasuke was shocked. He hadn't expected his brother to come with him. This town had been Itachi's home ever since the rest of their family had been murdered. He had settled in and was living rather comfortably with the rest of the Akatsuki as his family. Sasuke wasn't expecting his brother to uproot his life to go running off into danger with him.

"Don't look so surprised," Itachi chuckled. "What kind of brother would I be if I left you alone in a dangerous situation like this? And besides, I still want to meet this girlfriend of yours."

Sasuke smirked, "Fine then. But we leave in the morning." It was nice having family to rely on. He didn't know where he would be without Itachi. And he would always be grateful to him.

* * *

True to his word, Itachi was ready to leave just as the sun was starting to peak over the horizon. While Sasuke threw the last of their bags into Itachi's little black car his, brother was on the phone a few feet away. Sasuke knew that he was being impulsive and he felt bad for dragging his brother along.

Itachi finished his phone call and came over. "Ready?"

"You don't have to come with me," Sasuke offered Itachi one last chance to back out.

"You make is sound like you coming with you is a bad thing. Do you not want me to go?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "No, of course not," that wasn't what he was going for at all. "I mean that your giving up everything here to follow me into what is sure to escalate into a war."

"It's not like I had much here anyway. I was comfortable but it's not something that would force me to stay here. And I think you've been alone long enough," Itachi said.

Sasuke smiled, "Thanks." With that he jumped into the passenger seat while Itachi got behind the wheel.

The trip was rather long; it would take them all day to get there. It was quiet, with hardly any conversation. A few hours in Sasuke fell asleep. A few days with hardly any sleep finally caught up to him. Luckily his dreams were uneventful and he stayed asleep for the remainder of the trip.

He only woke up when Itachi gently shook his shoulder. "We're here."

Sasuke blinked wearily. His body was stiff from sleeping in an awkward position for so long. It was dark, well into the night by the time they had arrived.

Home.

It's been so long since he was here. Itachi had stopped at the edge of the city, the lights created a dim dome around the city. He had pulled over off the road and parked in the shadows of a large tree.

"Is this a good idea?" Itachi asked, "Two werewolves just walking into a town ruled by hunters, doesn't seem like a very good idea."

In the past Sasuke could have walked around town with no fear. But now they both had to be cautious. The hunters probably won't be happy to see him.

"We should also figure out how bad the vampire situation is here," Itachi said. Sasuke nodded, he was so nervous being this close to his old home that he nearly forgot the main reason why he and his brother had come back in the first place. It would be wise to scout the area first. In the worst case scenario, the town would be overrun with vampires. That was something that they didn't want to rush blindly into.

"Fine," Sasuke agreed. The two of them got out of the car at the same time in headed for the forest that surrounded the town.

They left the roadside and stepped into the forest. When they no longer could see the glow from the street lights they transformed simultaneously. While living with his brother Sasuke had learned a very useful trick. Transforming without completely destroying his clothes was extremely convenient. The two wolves moved swiftly through the forest. Two shadows blending into the darkness around them.

Instead of heading straight for the city they circled around, skirting the edge of the town. The first thing they noticed was the lack of night life. Even if it was already dark it wasn't that late in the night for everyone to be asleep. There were a few stragglers but they seemed to be very concerned in where they were headed.

But other than the lack of people there didn't seem to be any suspicious activity. Maybe they were being overly cautious. There was a small click that caught Sasuke's attention. His ears perked up, becoming more alert. But it didn't save him from the net that was concealed in the treetops.

He looked up just as the weighted woven rope fell over him. The net knocked him to the ground, it was much heavier than it appeared to be at first glance. Hidden barbs tangled in his fur restricting his movements. If he struggled to much the barbs would prick his skin. But he needed to escape quickly. The trap was most likely mechanical; he knew that he hadn't set off any wires or something that have activated that trap. There was also a good chance that the trap had triggered an alarm somewhere to alert whoever had set it that their trap had been sprung.

Itachi began to paw the net, trying to find an area where there weren't very many barbs. When he finally found a safe area, he gingerly picked up the net in his teeth and began to lift it up. He pulled it over Sasuke as gently as he could. Sasuke growled lowly as the hooks tugged on his fur and scratched his skin. It didn't cause too much damage, only creating small shallow cuts. It was slow and careful work, and if they pulled any quicker the barbs would only cause the net to become more tangled.

Finally, with one last tug the net came free. As soon as Itachi tossed the net to the side, the two of them took off into the surrounding foliage. They positioned themselves to that they could easily see whoever comes to check the net without being discovered. They needed to know who set the trap. If it was just a hunter trap, then they would just leave them alone. But if the vampires had set it then that would indicate that they were gaining more ground than they had first anticipated and now ruled this area of the forest.

After hiding for nearly ten minutes they could hear very soft footsteps approaching them. Five cloaked figures came into their view and carefully approached the net. They didn't smell like vampires, in fact they had hardly any scent at all.

That meant that they were hunters which was a good sign. After making eye contact with Sasuke, Itachi tilted his head to the side. They found out what they wanted to know, there was no point in sticking around any longer.

Sasuke was about to follow but one more figure appeared, making him stop. It was a huge white dog. Akamaru was much older now but still easily recognizable. If he was here that means that one of the hunters must be Kiba.

Itachi huffed at him, trying to get his attention without alerting the hunters to their presence. Luckily they were upwind of Akamaru so he hadn't caught their scent yet.

But Sasuke didn't move. He hadn't thought about what he was going to do when he finally saw his old friends. This might be a good a chance as any. There was only five of them, he could easily escape if things got ugly. And Akamaru was here, animals weren't as judging as people. He could use him as a way to reveal himself without startling them. He hopped Akamaru remembered him.

One of the hunters knelt down and began inspecting the net while the others stood around them. Alert with guns raised. Sasuke watched as the hunter picked a clump of fur from the net and brought it closer to their face to inspect it.

Ignoring his brother's warnings, Sasuke moved stealthily around the group so he was now downwind of them. Sasuke let out a low rumble, a soft noise that wasn't quite a growl. He needed to catch Akamaru's attention before the other hunters. And it worked. The dog's ears perked and he began scanning the area Sasuke was hiding in. Akamaru sniffed the air curiously and began to creep closer to him.

"What's wrong boy?"

The hunter that was kneeling near the net stood up and stood behind the dog. The other hunters turned toward him and watched who he assumed was Kiba. It was hard to tell with the hood and the cloth that covered the bottom part of their faces.

It seemed that Akamaru had finally caught his scent. At first he stiffened, probably concerned about smelling a wolf so by. But he calmed down a moment later, Sasuke assumed that he recognized his scent. Akamaru began to whimper excitedly with his tail wagging back and forth rapidly.

The hunter he assumed was Kiba began shouting, "Whose out there? If you're a friend come out!" One of the other masked hunters sharply turned towards their comrade and began to whisper harshly. But he was ignored.

Kiba knew that he was here, or at least he had some kind of clue. With a deep sigh Sasuke slowly stepped out of the bushes. The other four hunters raised their rifles when he stepped out of his hidden cover completely.

The hunter he thought was his old friend pushed one of the barrels away and let out a loud hearty laugh.

"Holy shit is that really you?" The hunter pushed his mask down and pulled back his hood. The red tattoos on his cheeks was proof enough that it really was Kiba.

Sasuke paused before getting any closer. His eyes roaming over each of the other hunters wearily. He was tense, ready to jump away at any moment.

"It's okay guys he's an old friend," Kiba tried to calm the other hunters.

"But captain," one of the other hunters voiced his uncertainty. The other shared his nervousness and didn't need to voice it.

To ease their minds, Sasuke shifted back to his human form and raised his hands in surrender. The other hunters gasped and only gripped their guns tighter. They were smarter than he expected. They were aware that even his human form was dangerous.

Kiba's jaw dropped in astonishment. "That's a new trick."

Sasuke smirked, "I don't have to worry about extra clothes now." Kiba chuckled, it wasn't often that Sasuke cracked a joke.

But his expression then turned serious. "How have you been?" They had put off these questions long enough. It was inevitable that they asked about where he what happened to him. Even if he knew this was coming, it still wasn't something that Sasuke really wanted to discuss.

Sasuke's eyes dropped, "As good as I could be." He didn't want to go into details now. Maybe one day.

Kiba started to look uncomfortable. "We tried to look for you when you disappeared. But your trail went far beyond our borders and we had to call it off. Why did you leave?"

Sasuke snorted at his questions. "Wasn't it obvious?" His gaze darkened.

"We could have helped you. Everyone was worried; especially- "but he stopped mid-sentence. Kiba looked away and pressed a hand to his ear. It was then that Sasuke noticed the small earpiece that was nearly hidden from view. "Everything's fine. But you may want to come anyway," by the frown on Kiba's face, Sasuke could assume whoever was on the other end of the com-link was giving him an earful.

Sasuke looked away from his old friend and examined the other hunters. They jumped when he made eye contact with them. Their jittering made Sasuke roll his eyes. Akamaru made his way over and looked at Sasuke expectantly. Sasuke knelt down and began to pet the loyal dog. He scratched behind his ears and under his chin, places where he himself enjoyed.

"Just get your ass over here and you'll understand!" Kiba shouted. "And don't bring the rest of your squad." Sasuke snickered at Kiba's predicament. Whoever he was talking to was really giving him a hard time. Kiba was trying to be discrete, not openly announcing that Sasuke had returned and he could appreciate that.

"Sorry," Kiba apologized before cursing quietly under his breath. Sasuke shrugged, he didn't really care.

It was awkwardly quiet after that. The other hunters shuffled nervously, obviously still uncomfortable with Sasuke so close. With a sigh and shake of his head Kiba turned around and began to council his team.

Even though he couldn't see him, Sasuke knew that Itachi was still around somewhere. He could only hope that his brother trusted him and stayed hidden.

"What made you come back?" Kiba had finished talking with his team and turned his attention back to Sasuke. While his tone was stern Sasuke could tell that he wasn't accusing or angry at his leaving then sudden reappearance. He was honestly curious, and Sasuke couldn't blame him.

"In the town that I was living we noticed the vampire population was fluctuating. After capturing and interrogating a few of them we found out that vampires were being sent here," Sasuke answered honestly. "So I came back to help."

"Is that the only reason?"

Now Kiba was entering dangerous territory. Of course he wanted to see Sakura too, but it wasn't something he was ready to talk about yet. And most likely knew this and just wanted him to admit it. While Sasuke considered Kiba a friend, he was not the person he wanted to explain his predicament to.

They were interrupted by the loud racket someone was making as they crashed through the forest. It was probably whoever Kiba was arguing with.

"What the fuck is so important that I had to come all the way over here!"

Sasuke wasn't too surprised to see Ino. The loud angry voice was a dead giveaway.

At first Ino glared angrily at Kiba for forcing her to walk to another sector of the forest. When she glanced around her eyes initially passed over Sasuke. Her head turned back to him so fast that Sasuke was surprised that it didn't give her whiplash. Her long ponytail whipped Kiba across the face making him sputter and curse, but Ino ignored his complaints.

"Sasuke?" she asked, her eyes wide and her moth hung open in shock. When he nodded Ino surged forward and wrapped her arms around him. Sasuke stiffened at the sudden contact. But before he could react Ino released him and shoved him hard. He was about to retort but her slap silenced him. She hit him hard enough to snap his head to the side and force him to take a few steps over to stop himself from falling over.

"Where the hell have you been!" Ino shouted. Tears began to from in the corners of her eyes and her body began to shake. They couldn't tell if she was sad, upset, angry, or a mixture of all three.

After the initial shock wore off the skin of his cheek started to sting and glow a bright red. Damn could she hit hard. "Oww…"

His lame responses only seemed to anger Ino more. "Oh I'll hurt more than just your face!" she screeched. Her screaming was already hurting his ears but he chose not to comment on that. Ino's temper hadn't faded over the years and he didn't want to push it. "Do you know how hard it's been for us? For her?!"

He didn't think that his leaving was going to bother Sakura the way she reacted the last time he saw her. Maybe she did still care for him. The small speck of hope that he had been holding onto slowly began to grow.

"Where the fuck did you go?!" Ino continued to yell after Sasuke remained silent.

"Away," he answered bluntly. Ino's face turned red with anger. "How is she?" he interrupted before she could question him anymore. Ino and Kiba both knew who he was referring to.

"Maybe we should talk about this in private," she answered. They could practically see the amount of effort it was taking her to speak in a more reasonable tone.

"I'll take these guys home," Kiba offered, referring to the other hunter that were watching the confrontation in awe. It took a bit of convincing to get the rest of the hunters to leave Ino alone with him, but after an angry glare from the blond hunter they quickly followed Kiba.

When they could no longer hear the others Ino continued to interrogate him. "How could you just leave like that? She was a mess after you left! And I had to try to put her back together."

Now Sasuke was getting upset. Ino was accusing him like he wanted to leave. He didn't want to abandon her; she was the one who couldn't stand him!

"You think I wanted to go!?" Sasuke roared, "You think I wanted to be separated from her!? She couldn't stand the sight of me. You never saw how she reacted. What was I supposed to do?!" Sasuke could feel his anger rising and his heart beginning to pound. He clenched his fists so tightly they began to shake. Ino was ignorant of his suffering, she had no idea how difficult it was for him these past few years. In a distant part of his mind warning sirens began going off. He had to calm down. He had to control his anger, before it controlled him.

Ino's angry expression faded into one of confusion then of shock. "You didn't know."

"Know what?" Sasuke growled.

"Sasuke," Ino's voice lost its sharp edge. Now it was soft, almost sad. "Sakura lost her memory." That stopped Sasuke anger dead in its tracks. His body lost all the tension it was building up and now he felt drained, weak. Memory loss?

"What do you mean?"

"I heard a little about what happened from her father when she first saw you and I don't blame you for freaking out. You had no idea Sakura had lost majority of her memories," Ino said.

Sasuke was in shock. All this time he thought that Sakura hated him, that she was afraid of him. But that might not be the case. She was mentally unstable at the time; she didn't know him.

"How is she now? Did she get her memories back?" he asked.

"It took a while but she eventually got most of her memories back. There are some things she still hasn't remembered, but most of those memories are small and of unimportance," Ino explained. "And she does remember you."

Sasuke watched as Ino's eyes became glassy with tears. He wanted to interrupt her and ask her hundreds of questions. He was anxious to hear what she had to say but he knew that this was a sensitive topic and waited for her to gather her thoughts.

"At first her memories were all jumbled and she had a hard time deciphering what was real and what she had imagined. And when she finally began to remember things about you she asked us where you were." Ino had to stop to try to control the sniffles that had started. "We didn't know what to tell her. A lot of people thought that you would never come back."

"Does she still ask about me?" _Does she still care about me? Does she still love me?_ Sasuke couldn't voice his true questions.

But Ino knew what he really meant. "After a while she stopped bringing you up. I think it hurt her to think about you." It wasn't a clear answer and Sasuke could feel himself beginning to crumble. She needed him and he wasn't there for her. "Truthfully, she doesn't even mention you now."

When his entire world was taken away from him Sakura had been his lifeline. But when his chance came to finally return that favor he failed her. He abandoned her, after everything she did for him.

"Can I see her?"

At first Ino wanted to shout 'yes of course!' but she wasn't sure. Sakura had stopped mentioning Sasuke a while ago and him suddenly appearing my cause a negative reaction. She had such a slow painful recovery and she didn't want to upset that. But at the same time Sakura would want to meet him. She's been desperate to meet the boy, now man, that flickered in and out through her broken memories.

Ino nodded. Who was she to keep them apart. "Just be careful okay. She's been through enough."

"Okay," Sasuke replied. He was both excited and frightened.

Finally. He finally was going to see her again.

* * *

After they left the forest Ino had given Sasuke the address for the little townhouse that Sakura was currently renting. He was surprised that she was living on her own and not with her parents.

Ino had offered him a ride but Sasuke declined. At first she was concerned for his wellbeing. It wasn't safe to wander alone at night these days. But a blank look from Sasuke quickly changed her mind and made her laugh. Sasuke as one of those things that you wouldn't want to come across.

More importantly, he needed time to get his thoughts together. What was he supposed to do when he found her? What if she didn't recognize him, her memory might still be faulty. Or worse, what if she was still afraid of him? At first Ino's explanation had calmed his fears but now they were back in full force.

Sasuke followed Ino's directions and found the row of identical houses much faster than he would like. He still wasn't ready! His stomach was twisted in knots and his heart was beating much quicker than what would be considered normal. His emotions were in such termoil that he was surprised that he hadn't internally combusted. Even if he was feeling so many things at once his face still remained passive. The only give away was the way he was frowning at the ground.

He looked up at the sounds of voices. There was a couple standing in front of one of the houses embracing on the doorstep. Sasuke scowled, it was as if they were mocking him. He would do anything to be able to hold Sakura like that again.

Watching them was only aggravating him. He was about to turn away but something caught his eye.

Pink

Sasuke's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at what he was witnessing. Sakura was hugging and smiling fondly at some guy. At first he tried to tell himself that it wasn't her. But who else had pink hair like that?

His chest constricted painfully. Jealousy, rage, and sadness threatened to devour him. That had to be Sakura. Had she forgotten him? Was she over him?

Was that her new boyfriend?

Sasuke was frozen in place. He didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted to rip them apart. Sakura was supposed to be his mate. But another part of him wanted to run away. He had no one else to blame but himself for what happened between them. He couldn't blame her from moving on.

Sasuke was lost.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Sakura sat at a round dinner table covered in a white cloth. She started at the far wall, her mind wandering.

"Sakura?"

She jumped when the man across of her called her name. He was rather good looking with a fit build, with short brown hair and hazel eyes. She was sure his name was Ikuto. Or maybe Ikari. Actually, she wasn't very confident if either of those options were his name.

"Sorry," she apologized, "I'm a little distracted. I have a huge test coming up in a few days."

That wasn't true but she didn't want to appear rude for ignoring her partner. She really should be giving him more attention though.

"It's alright," he smiled at her, "I'm sure you'll do fine."

It was the basic polite response. She could be a complete moron for all he knew. She was saved from anymore awkward conversations by the arrival of their food. Sakura ordered a light pasta while he had gotten a steak. She busied herself with eating and began to mentally chide herself.

About a year ago, she had agreed to go on a date every now and then after much prodding from her mother and her friends. Even if she agreed to date it didn't mean that she began to pursue anyone. She had a few people ask her out but she always turned them down. It came to the point where she was forced to go on blind dates. And that was exactly what this was.

They were all nice guys but something just didn't feel right when she went out with them. None of them made her pulse quicken, or maker her chest fill with warmth. None of them made her feel like home.

_He's not going to come back. _

_It's been years, if he was going to return he would have done it by now._

Arguments like that is what made Sakura agree to these dates in the first place. The logical part of her mind agreed with them. But her heart just couldn't let him go.

It had been five years since she had seen Sasuke. After her injury she desperately tried to piece her memory back together. It had frustrated her how slowly it took her mind to recuperate. By the time she remembered who the boy she saw was he was long gone.

She had wanted to go after him. To find him and explain to him what had happened. But she couldn't. She had no idea where he disappeared to or how to track him down.

"So, how's your food?" her date asked.

"It's fine."

She was doing it again. Her mind kept wandering back to him when she should be focusing on her date. This wasn't the first time she had this problem.

When she started her schooling to become a doctor she devoted herself to her studies. All she did was go to school, study, and work under her aunt. It was a pathway to her dream, but a part of it was also to distract herself from missing him.

But it didn't work. When she was too exhausted to do anything her mind would automatically wander back to him. It wasn't healthy and her friends and family began to notice. It took a while, but they finally managed to convince her to at least try dating again. Even if she agreed it didn't mean that she actively sought out these new men. So then she was forced to agree to go on the occasional blind date. That was how she ended up in situations like this.

She did end up meeting a few nice guys but none of them felt right. They just didn't click.

She knew that her loved ones only had her best interest at heart so she couldn't be mad at them for trying to help her find happiness. In fact, she was more frustrated with herself. On her low days she felt that she would never get to meet Sasuke and really wanted to move on. But then something inside of her would clench painfully and cause her to break down even more. Normally after times like this she would just lie in bed and sulk.

Sakura felt like she was stuck in a rut, never able to move forward. It made her tired and depressed. She often wondered how Sasuke was doing. If he was faring well without her or if he was happy. She hoped that where ever he was he was at least happy.

The rest of their meal past by uneventfully. Sakura and her date had a few meaningless conversations but it never lasted more than a few minutes. She felt bad for him, she was such an awful date and he was really trying to be interactive and friendly.

When the waiter came around and offered them desert Sakura politely declined. While the fancy cakes and puddings they had looked delicious she just really wanted to go home. Her date graciously payed for both their meals escorted her out of the restaurant.

"Is there anywhere else you would like to go? Movies? Take a walk?" he offered kindly.

Sakura hesitated for a moment before answering, "Actually I'm kind of tired. I had a long day." That wasn't particularly true but she was mentally exhausted. What she really wanted to do was lie around her lonely little house and maybe read a book.

He looked a little disappointed but he still kept up his warm smile and agreed to take her home. The car ride was pleasant. Sakura forced herself to make conversation and try to make the last leg of their date at least a little bit more enjoyable for him.

When they arrived at her home her date parked on the curb side in a spot closest to her house. "Let me walk you to the door," he said.

Sakura looked over her shoulder at him since she was already half way out the car door when he spoke. "You don't have to it's fine really," she argued. "It's not that far and it would be more of a hassle for you."

"It's alright I don't mind," he smiled. Sakura smiled back it him. She would give him points for charm and having really good manners.

"Thank you for dinner. It was nice," she said as the reached the door to her house.

"Perhaps we can get dinner again sometime or maybe lunch?" he asked.

He was so nice to her the whole night that Sakura felt bad if she turned him down. "I'm going to be kind of busy but maybe one day."

Her date nodded, accepting her answer. Even if he hid it really well she could tell he was disappointed. She felt bad for him he was a really nice guy and she was just being difficult. After hesitating he held out his arms. "If it's not too much trouble could I get a hug?"

Sakura was a bit shocked but recovered quickly. "Um, sure." It was nice of him to ask first and only request for a hug instead of a kiss. Her first blind date had tried to sneak in a good-bye kiss and ended up with a swollen jaw after she punched him. She didn't really mean it but he had caught her of guard and she freaked out.

The hug was friendly, no wandering hands or anything creepy. But at the same time there was that feeling again. The hug that they shared didn't make her feel happy or loved. It actually had the opposite effect, making her a bit nervous and jittery. It wasn't right.

After thanking him again and waving as he drove off, Sakura could finally enter her house. As soon as she was in the door she let out a long drawn out sigh and plopped down onto the couch. It was definitely one of the nicer dates she had been on but it still left her feeling empty in side. Her date had been wonderful and didn't seem upset that she wasn't all there the entire night. She should probably ask Tenten for his name since she was the one who suggested they have dinner. But while he was really nice she didn't really want a second date. It would indicate that she was interested in him when she really wasn't and she didn't want to give him the wrong idea. It would be unfair for him.

This was way too stressful for something that was supposed to be fun. She would think about it more tomorrow. All she wanted right now was to relax and have a cup of tea and then maybe she would go to bed early.

* * *

Sakura had only just finished making her cup of tea and gotten settled again when there was a knock on her door. Some of her past dates had been pushy and frustrated with her for being such a dull inactive date. She didn't think that this last guy was like that. Maybe she misjudged him. Or he was coming back to tell her he had changed her mind about their 2nd date. If that was the case, then at least that would save her the trouble of thinking of an excuse to cancel their next dinner.

She frowned and set her tea down on the small coffee table next to her couch. All she wanted to do was unwind and put this last dating event behind her, but it seemed like that was too much to ask for. Who else would be stopping by without notice?

Actually it could be Naruto.

He tended to randomly show up from time to time just to bug her. But as much as she loved her hyper blond friend, she didn't feel like dealing with him right now.

She was ultimately surprised to see neither her last date or Naruto standing at her door.

It was a man. He was pretty handsome, about a head taller than her with a lean muscular build with black hair and even darker eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments. Sakura was confused and this stranger looked really nervous and almost scared.

Normally when some stranger came up to your house at night when you were home alone it was cause for alarm. But Sakura wasn't afraid or cautious, in fact she felt content. It was as if she was familiar with him.

Then suddenly a dozen images passed through her mind. This wasn't a stranger she knew who this was.

* * *

Sasuke waited around after her date left. He was having an internal battle; he was wanted to see her but he was a coward. What if she no longer loved him? She was obviously seeing someone new. If she had a new boyfriend, then he would let her be. He just wanted a chance to see her. Sasuke was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that he was standing in front of her door. He must have knocked since he could hear her moving around inside, and light footsteps getting closer.

At first he wanted to run away but she was already there, it would look like a prank if he just ran now. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as the door opened. She was just as beautiful as he remembered.

"Hi," he murmured to break the awkward silence. After all these years all he could say was 'hi'? He was pathetic.

Sakura's jaw suddenly dropped and tears began forming in her eyes. At the sight of her tears Sasuke began to panic.

"Wait!" He backed up a little. He didn't want to scare her, like before. "I'll just go. Sorry." He could feel his chest constricting. He had kept telling himself that he would be okay with just being able to see her, but that was a lie. It still hurt to be away from her, even if they were only separated by a few feet of empty space.

"No don't!"

Sasuke was shocked when Sakura quickly grasped his arm before he could flee.

"Don't go," Sakura whimpered, tears now slowly falling from her cheeks. They stood there, in the chilly night air, just watching one another. Both afraid that the other would suddenly disappear. Sakura slowly released her grip when she realized how tightly she was squeezing his arm. "W-would you like to come in?"

Sasuke nodded and followed her into her house. Sakura led him to the couch, never letting go of his arm. When they were both seated Sakura finally let go of him and folded he hands in her lap and Sasuke sat there stiffly, unsure what to do with himself.

"Your Sasuke right?" she asked. He could only nod in response. Sasuke was slightly disappointed when she let him go. Even if it was brief her touch brought back a warmth that he had been missing for years. It took a lot of self-restraint to keep himself from wrapping his arms around her.

"I was told you lost your memory. Do you know who I am?" he asked.

Sakura looked away shyly, "It took me a long time to fully remember about you." Sasuke could see her hands beginning to tremble.

"Are you afraid of me?"

Sakura's head shot up and she looked at him in alarm. "No! No of course not!" she shook her head and waved her arms back and forth in front of her self rapidly.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," Sasuke said. His somber tone stopped Sakura's movements. "I attacked you." They should have had this conversation long ago. The guilt from harming the person most precious to him had only built up even more over the years that they were separated.

"But that was an accident. It wasn't your fault," Sakura said. She wasn't mad at him for what happened.

"No it was my fault. I should have listened to you. If I did none of this would have happened." Sasuke gripped his knees and clenched his teeth. If he had stayed away from Orochimaru then he wouldn't have hurt Sakura and he wouldn't have had to spend all these years without her.

Sakura looked on sadly. She gently pulled one of his hands away from his knee and entwined her fingers with his. Sasuke watched her as she closed the gap between them and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you," Sakura said. "Why did you leave?" She missed this. Being with him, able to hold him. This was the feeling that she as missing whenever she saw those other guys. No one else could me her feel this happy, warm, loved. Even if they were talking about depressing things she was content just to touch him like this.

Sasuke gripped her hand tighter as he remembered the first time he saw her after the attack. "When I found you after everything happened you just started screaming. I thought that you were afraid of me. I didn't know what to do."

"At that time I didn't know what was going on. And when I saw you a lot of memories were flashing in and out of my head. I was confused and afraid," Sakura admitted. "But after things calmed down and I began to slowly regain my memories I wanted to see you. We tried to find you but you were already long gone. I've been waiting for you to come back, but I was starting to lose hope. But now you're here."

Sakura let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Tears began to fall from her eyes and soak his shirt. Sasuke shifted so that he could return her embrace and buried his face into her hair. For the first time in years, Sasuke was happy. She had been missing him as much as he missed her. She wasn't afraid, she didn't hate him. It was much more than he could have asked for.

"Don't cry," he whispered and began to gently stroke her hair. By now Sakura's tears and evolved into sobs that shook her whole body.

"I missed you," she repeated, her voice muffled by his clothes.

"I missed you too." Sasuke smiled softly as he comforted her.

Sakura smiled through her tears. This is what she had been missing for all these years. For the first time she was happy, truly happy.

Even if Sasuke was enjoying her embrace he had to know. "Who was that?"

Sakura wiped her remaining tears and looked up at him with a baffled expression. "Who?"

"That guy? Is he your boyfriend?" Sasuke asked his voice dying out at the end.

It took a few moments for Sakura to completely understand what Sasuke was talking about. She giggled at his expression. He was trying to hide his feelings through a blank expression but she could see the sadness and worry that lay in the very depths of his eyes.

"We just went on one date," Sakura smiled at him, "But now that you're back, there won't be any more dates." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. The contact made Sasuke jump, he wasn't expecting anything like that to occur so quickly. But he wasn't going to complain.

His sudden movements made Sakura regret her actions. "Sorry. Was that too soon?" she asked and slowly backed away from him. She couldn't help herself. Her body had just reacted on its own. It felt just so natural to kiss him that she didn't think about their situation. It had been years since they had any contact and to suddenly be kissing him. She normally wasn't this forward when it came to things like this, but Sasuke seemed to be the exception for everything.

He instantly regretted his reaction, and made up for it by bringing her closer to him. "I was just surprised," he answered and nuzzled her neck. His actions made Sakura flush red but she didn't pull away. Her scent was just as good as he remembered. Her sweet floral fragrance was intoxicating. With a small growl he leaned farther back onto the couch and pulled her along until she was seated on his lap.

Sakura couldn't stop the small 'eep' that escaped her that was caused by his semi aggressive action to be even closer to her.

"Is this okay?" he asked. They were so close that she could feel the rumble of his voice all the way to her bones. Sakura didn't trust her voice and could only nod her head in response. Her face was now completely red. It made her blush from earlier look pale in comparison.

"What are you going to do now?" she asked while trying to distract herself from how good Sasuke's affection made her feel.

"I was planning on staying. If that's okay with you?"

"Of course!" Sakura practically shouted, "I don't want you to go. You just got back." Sasuke smirked, pleased with her response. He began to run his hand up and down her back soothingly.

"How have you been? He asked. It seemed like petty small talk but he was honestly curious, he had quite a few years to catch up on. Sakura began to animatedly tell him about her schooling and current training at the hospital. She warily told him about the dates she agreed to go on. She felt bad when she saw his content face morph into a frown.

"W-were you seeing anyone while you were gone?" she tentatively asked.

"No." Sasuke's response was so immediate that it made her feel bad. How could she even think about trying to find someone new when he obviously didn't.

"Oh-," she trailed off. She didn't know what else to say. She was surprised when Sasuke kissed her forehead.

"It's okay," he murmured against her skin. "I don't blame you. I might have considered that too if I could."

"Oh yeah." Sakura rubbed the side of her neck where she bore a light colored scar she had gained from her first time with Sasuke. She would occasionally rub that same spot when she thought of him. "I'm sorry," she apologized and buried her face into his neck.

Sasuke smiled, "It's fine. As long as the only guy you're seeing from now on is me." She giggled at him, her mood lifting again.

"That will be easy to do," she smiled and kissed his cheek. "Now that you know what I've been up to, what about you?"

"Not much really. Met a bunch of weirdos and I've been hunting with my brother," Sasuke said it calmly, as if finding his brother wasn't a big deal.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Your brother?! But I thought you were the only survivor?"

"I thought so too," Sasuke chuckled.

Sakura's face lit up. "Oh that's so great Sasuke! I can't wait to meet him."

Sasuke smirked and kissed her, instantly silencing her. When they separated Sakura was left breathless.

"Later. I don't want to share you with anyone just yet." His tone sent shivers down her spine and warmed her belly.

"Okay," that was the only word her mind could form at the moment, all she could think about was him. Words were beyond her. She wasn't in the mood for sharing either. This time it was her to initiate their kiss.

Their mouths moved languidly against each other. Sakura shifted herself so that she was seated in his lap while he was between her legs. Her hands found their way into his hair when he gripped her hips to bring them even closer together. Sakura moaned against his mouth. Her body was burning with a fire that she hadn't felt since the last time she was with him. She felt his tongue beginning to probe her lips and she eagerly opened them for him. Her body began to move on its own and pressed down harder against him.

Sasuke began to growl when the woman above him began to grind her hips against his. Sakura could now feel his arousal pressing up against her and it only encouraged her more. Sasuke tore his mouth away from hers and moved down her neck, sucking and nibbling at the sensitive skin there. He didn't care if his actions marred her light colored skin. In fact, that's what he wanted. He wanted others to know that she belonged to him.

Sakura began to breathlessly moan his name while Sasuke ravaged her neck. Her hands left his hair and moved to his shoulders, then down his arms, squeezing his biceps. She eventually found her way under his shirt. Her hands roamed over his chest and abs, relishing the rippling muscles beneath her palms.

"I want to see your eyes," she gasped. Reluctantly, Sasuke pulled away from her neck and looked at her. Sakura gasped when she looked into his blood red eyes. She fought to regain her breath as she got lost in his gaze.

"Are you afraid?" Sasuke asked. His voice was gruff. His husky tone mixed with a growl. Sakura wouldn't never admit it but she found that a huge turn on.

When she first looked into his eyes she remembered the creature that attacked her. But that wasn't Sasuke, this man in front of her was.

"I'll never be afraid of you," she said warmly. She leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the lips before pulling away. Sasuke looked at her confusedly when Sakura stood up. She could only gaze lovingly at him and reached out to help him off the couch. He took her hand and pulled himself up and instantly gathered her into his arms.

This time Sakura was the one to be aggressive. She returned the favor and started kissing his neck. Sasuke couldn't stop the moan from escaping when Sakura's teeth began to scrape the skin on his neck. He was disappointed when she pulled away. But that feeling instantly went away when she took his hand and began leading him down the hall. Sasuke growled lowly and followed her eagerly. He couldn't wait to make up for all their lost time. And judging by the way she pulled him along, she couldn't either.

**A/N: It's getting harder for me to write. Please excuse my slower updates.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**A/N: At first I wasn't going to have a lemon in the beginning, but since people requested it I had to. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Sakura lost herself in the fire that engulfed her body when Sasuke's lips were pressed passionately against hers. Her hands were working on removing his pants while his were busy fondling her breasts. Neither of them were aware of how they had gotten from the living room and onto Sakura's bed. They quickly shed the rest of their clothing. Their bodies longed for closer more intimate contact. Sasuke growled as he nipped at her collar bone and maneuvered his hand between her legs. Sakura gasped when Sasuke began to stimulate her body. She moaned and began to rock her hips against his hand and clawed at his biceps.

Pleased with her response Sasuke smirked against her neck. He licked the column of her neck one more time before moving down her body to her breasts. He suckled each mound and scraped the sides lightly with his fangs. Sakura was reduced to a quivering mass of need as Sasuke continued to pleasure her body. She gasped his name breathily, unable to form coherent sentences.

Looking up at him with half lidded eyes she could see his red eyes glowing slightly in the dark. It didn't frighten her at all; in fact, it made her slightly more aroused. It was the private, more primal side of her lover that only she got to see.

"More," Sakura whimpered. That was all the encouragement Sasuke needed.

He repositioned himself on top of her and pressed himself against her. Sakura moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist when Sasuke began to slowly sink into her. Sasuke grunted and began to pant when Sakura's body slowly began to accept him. It had been so long, and she was extremely tight. He was very eager and had to leash the beast inside of him that wanted to thrust harshly into her, to claim her over and over. But he didn't want to hurt her so he forced himself to move slowly and give her time to adjust.

When he was finally pressed completely against her he lowered his head to rest against her forehead. He shuddered at the feeling of being inside of her, it felt even better than he remembered. Both of them were slightly sticky with perspiration but neither cared they both wanted to be closer. Needed to be closer.

Sasuke slowly began to rock against her, pleasure spiking whenever he pushed back in. He had missed this so much. But it wasn't only the sex. He missed the closeness and the bond that he had with Sakura. Nothing in the world could compare, and it was torture being away from her.

Sakura began to gasp and moan when Sasuke began to pick up the pace. His slow rocking had escalated into aggressive thrusting. Sakura threw her head back and moaned loudly, crying out his name as she raked her fingers down his back. It felt so good. Heat rapidly built up in her belly until it finally exploded. She cried out and shivered beneath him as waves of pleasure radiated throughout her body.

But Sasuke was far from being done with her. He pulled out of her and gently turned her body over so that she was lying on her stomach. Sakura knew immediately what he wanted and propped herself up on her elbows and raised her rear to grind it against him. Sasuke smirked at her reaction, she was just as eager as he was. He wasted no time in impaling himself into her again.

Sakura cried out when he resumed his rapid pace from earlier. Sasuke rammed into her from behind and leaned over her so that his chest was pressed against her back. He used one hand to brace himself against the mattress and the other to fondle her breast.

He continued to pound into eagerly into her. Sasuke clenched his teeth and growled with she began to constrict around him again. He began to lick the side of her neck where her light scare was. She was a bit overdue for a renewal.

When Sakura couldn't take it anymore she collapsed onto the bed moaning loudly. Her body shook with pleasure and her arms lost the strength to hold herself up. Sasuke shifted so that he could grasp her hips and began to raise them slightly to meet his. After a few more frantic thrusts, Sasuke slammed into her and sunk his fangs into her neck.

Sakura gasped as she became overwhelmed by multiple intense feelings. The pain from the bite caught her off guard, but it was soon forgotten about when she felt Sasuke's essence flow into her. For the first time since her injury she felt complete. She finally had that piece of herself that had been missing for years.

Sasuke lazily thrusted against her a few more times as he rode out his orgasm. When he was completely spent he pressed himself completely against her. He rolled onto his back and pulled her towards him, keeping them pressed together. They were both panting heavily, too lost in bliss to say anything. Sakura scooted closer and snuggled against his chest.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked once he caught his breath. He lapped up the trail of blood that oozed out of the bite mark that he had left. Sakura moaned and shivered, but not from pain.

"I'm much better than okay," she replied. Sakura pulled herself up so that she was lying directly on top of him. Her tongue darted out to lick the smear of blood on his chin then captured him is a kiss. Sasuke was quick to reciprocate and kiss back, opening his mouth to wrap his tongue around hers.

Sasuke jerked when he felt her hand wrap around his length and began to stroke him. A growl rumbled from deep in his throat making Sakura smirk against his lips. Sasuke grasped her hips and started to hump her, forcing her hand to grip him harder and move faster.

When they broke away for air Sakura gave Sasuke an innocent smile and pecked him on the cheek. Sasuke returned her look with a smirk that showed off his fangs. They still had a lot of time to catch up on.

* * *

When Sakura finally regained consciousness her first thought was that she was too comfortable to move. She hadn't felt this well rested in a long time. As her brain slowly began to wake up she began to recall the events from last night. It was almost too good to be true. She would have been heartbroken if it was a dream but the arm that was thrown over her body and the legs that were entwined with hers was confirmation enough that it was real.

She stretched and rolled over to face Sasuke, making sure to pull the covers over her naked breasts. Sakura winced when the spaced between her legs and her neck throbbed painfully. The pain quickly subsided, it wasn't unbearable and was a nice reminder of how well she enjoyed last night.

She smiled as she watched him sleep peacefully. Something black peaking over his shoulder caught her eye. It was a dark mark that curled over the skin of his shoulder and sprawled toward his neck. Reaching up she gently prodded the black skin. A tattoo? She never imagined that Sasuke was into that kind of thing.

Curious, propped herself up to look at the design that decorated his back. The black tribal marks covered both his shoulder blades and stretched up the back of his neck. She was admiring his body art when she got the surprise of her life. She let out a squeak and quickly scooted away from him. She covered her chest with both her arms and gaped astonished at Sasuke's smug look.

"Good morning," Sasuke said calmly.

Sakura was still gaping at him. "You bit me!"

Sasuke chuckled, "It was a very nice sight to wake up to." Sakura's face flushed a dark red. She had assumed that Sasuke would have remained asleep the whole time. It just happened that her boobs were sort of hovering over his face while she was checking out his tattoo.

Sakura glared at him and squeezed her arms tighter around herself, making Sasuke chuckle. He reached over and grabbed her, effortlessly pulling her back down to snuggle against him. "You didn't have to bite me," she pouted.

"Sorry," he apologized, but his teasing tone made it obvious that he didn't really mean it. He nuzzled his face into her hair and her anger melted away. She wasn't really upset with him, but it was really embarrassing.

"When did you become a morning person?" Sakura asked. Sasuke was always grumpy in the morning, but now he was happy and even a bit playful.

Sasuke hugged her tightly. "I would be in a much better mood if I woke up like this every morning."

Sakura blushed and kissed him. Her kissing encouraged him to press himself against her and cause his hands to start wandering. She weaved her fingers through his hair and tugging slightly on them. Sasuke quickly positioned himself on top of her and was eager to continue where they left off last night. Their frenzied movements caused the blanket to slide off, leaving them exposed.

Neither of them heard Sakura's front door slam open or the pounding footsteps that were quickly approaching. They both jumped and separated when a high pitched scream echoed through her house.

"MY EYES! MY POOR EYES! I'M NEVER GOING TO GET THAT OUT OF MY HEAD!" Naruto screamed as he fled the room as quickly as he could.

Sakura scrambled to gather the blanket to cover herself. She hid her bright red face beneath the covers, even though it was already too late. "I don't believe that just happened," Sakura said. She was so embarrassed. She peaked over at Sasuke to see that he was rubbing the bridge of his nose, and she could hear a soft growl coming from him. "Well we better get up and see what he wants."

Before Sakura could even get her feet on the ground she was yanked backwards. Sasuke pulled her back to against his chest and held her. Sakura squirmed in his grasp, only partially trying to actually escape.

"If we don't go see what Naruto wants you know he's going to make a scene and I wouldn't put him past him to come charging back in again," Sakura reasoned.

"Fine," Sasuke grumbled and got up to retrieve his scattered clothes. Sakura watched him putting his clothes back on and cursing Naruto under his breath.

"Later okay," she chuckled. She got up and gave him a kiss on the cheek on her way to the bathroom.

* * *

After they freshened up they found Hinata comforting a stressed Naruto on the couch. She was gently stroking his hair while Naruto had his arms wrapped around her middle and his head in her lap. "It was so horrible!" Naruto sobbed, his voice was muffled from her clothes.

While Naruto was busy complaining, Hinata looked up to see Sasuke and Sakura walk in. Sakura's face was still slightly flushed; she wasn't going to get over the embarrassment for a while. And Sasuke looked grumpy.

Naruto heard them coming and peaked at them. "You haven't been here for a day and you're already defiling my poor innocent Sakura!" Naruto shouted, jumping up from Hinata's lap and pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke. Sakura groaned and hid her flushed face in her hands and Sasuke just glared at their loud friend. "And you didn't even bother to come see me. I thought we were best friends!"

"Shut up, you're so loud," Sasuke scolded. But it only made Naruto complain even more.

Hinata slipped away from the arguing pair and went to stand next to Sakura "Sorry did we disturb you?" Hinata asked, even though everyone knew that Naruto clearly interrupted them.

"No no, it's fine," Sakura tried to wave off her friend's apology, it was embarrassing enough already. With a defeated sigh Sakura head toward the kitchen. "I'm going to make some breakfast. Would you like to help me?" Hinata nodded with a small smile. The boys obviously needed some bonding time.

Frustrated and irritated, Sasuke ignored the rest of Naruto's ranting and sat on the couch on the opposite end as his friend. Naruto knew that Sasuke had stopped listening and glared at him with a pouty face.

Sasuke was relieved when Naruto finally stopped talking, but their moment of silence hardly lasted longer than a few minutes before Naruto spoke up again.

"I'm glad you're back," Naruto said. His voice was soft, and not accusing like it was a second ago. Sasuke was taken off guard, not expecting Naruto to calm down so quickly. Maybe he finally matured a little.

Sasuke smirked, "Glad to be back." Even if the only reason he returned was to help them deal with the vampire problem, he was still happy to be home. Their reunion was going better than he ever could have hoped. It was almost like he never left.

While Sasuke wasn't paying attention Naruto launched himself off the couch and tackled Sasuke into a hug. "I missed you!" he cried into Sasuke's shoulder.

Startled and completely agitated from lack of personal space Sasuke began to claw at Naruto, trying to remove him. But Naruto's grip was strong and he wouldn't be removed easily. "Get off me!" Sasuke growled and clobbered Naruto in the head.

"Oww! Hinata! Sakura! Sasuke's hitting me!" Naruto cried but didn't release the struggling Sasuke, but he couldn't hold on for much longer. Naruto soon returned Sasuke's abuse and it turned into a brawl.

In the kitchen the two girls could hear the curses and the sound of fighting getting louder. Hinata giggled, it was nice to see that those two were getting along just as well as they used to. Sakura just rolled her eyes exasperatedly.

* * *

"No ramen?" Naruto asked when their simple breakfast of eggs and bacon was finished.

"Eating so much of that stuff isn't healthy," Sakura scolded, "You need some variety in your diet."

Naruto grinned slyly at her, "Bacon isn't healthy either." He scooped up the said piece of meat and waved it in front of her.

Sakura frowned at him. "I'm not going to cook for you anymore," she glared. Naruto quickly shut up and gobbled down the food in front of him.

"How are you Sasuke?" Hinata asked. Her voice was soft but she had clearly gotten a bit braver over the years since Sasuke couldn't remember the last time she struck up a conversation with him. It wasn't that they disliked one another, it was more like Sasuke hadn't had much to say and Hinata was too shy.

"I'm okay," he gave a short response. There wasn't much else for him to say.

"We have to take him to see Tsunade," Naruto said through a mouthful of food. Sasuke was confused, why would he need to see a doctor? Nothing was wrong with him.

Sakura could see Sasuke's confusion and tried to clarify. "My aunt is in charge of the organization now."

Sasuke was very surprised to hear that. He remembered that Tsunade had been on the council that helped lead the organization before, but he didn't think she wanted the leading role.

"When did that happen?" he asked.

Immediately the warm happy feeling in the room turned icy and dark. Sasuke almost regretted bringing it up, but he was also very curious.

"She took the position about a year ago," Sakura began to explain. "There had been attacks happening more and more frequently. We weren't sure what was really going on. People were going missing and we were finding more and more dead bodies. Then when the council got together for a meeting they were attacked by a group of vampires. Most of them were killed. My aunt was lucky and was busy at the hospital when it happened.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he turned toward Naruto. He knew that Naruto's god father Jiraya was part of the council.

Naruto knew what question was coming next and answered before Sasuke could answer. "He didn't make it. He died at the hospital." His eyes were downcast and Sasuke could tell that his god father's death had a great effect on him.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said. What else could he say? I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me.

Naruto looked up, his eyes glowed with an inner light. Pride. "It's okay. He died for a good cause. He brought us important information. That pervert had discovered that the people behind the attacks were vampires. He even managed to bring us a body and a possible location of their coven."

Sasuke was impressed. He had always assumed that Jiraya was a goof and never took him seriously. But it had to have taken a lot of skill to accomplish what he did.

From there Sakura continued the story, "At first it seemed that the organization would crumble without the council to lead it, but Tsunade stepped up and took control. We managed to find the coven but it was only an outpost. The larger population hasn't been discovered yet. Since then there had been the occasional attack, but lately they've been becoming more frequent."

It was worse than Sasuke had thought. At first he had only believed that the vampires were planning an attack of some kind, but in truth the attacks have been going on for a while and he just didn't notice.

"What can I do to help?" he asked. He would protect Sakura and his friends, no matter what it took.

"We have to take you to see my aunt to see what we can allow you to do," Sakura said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and gave her an odd look. What he was allowed to do? "We lost a lot of hunters, so we needed to ask for support from neighbor associations. These new guys can be a bit, prickly."

"They won't like working with a werewolf then," Sasuke said. She was trying to be kind about it, but Sasuke could read between the lines.

"They should be okay with it, some of them are nice," Naruto spoke up cheerily. He was switching moods so quickly that the others were starting to get dizzy.

Sakura shook her head and chucked at his chipper behavior. "You think everyone is nice. There are a few of them that we made friends with but the rest are a bit distant."

That wasn't good news for Sasuke. He was worried about the hunters that were from here, he didn't exactly leave on a good note. And now he has to worry about more people that would probably be even less trusting.

"Well, we better get going then," Sasuke said with an exasperated sigh.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had a few other errands to run and left Sasuke and Sakura to see Tsunade on their own. It was probably going to be rather boring and serious, not a place Naruto wanted to be.

"Are you nervous?" Sakura asked him as they walked side by side to the office. Both the hospital and the hunter's HQ were within walking distance of Sakura's house.

"I don't care if they don't like me," Sasuke replied. Sakura laughed. That was a very typical Sasuke-like answer. "I'm not here to make new friends. I'm her to protect you."

Sakura was stunned by his response. She didn't expect him to be so blunt about his intentions. "What would you have done if I didn't remember you?" She was curious. All these years he had been afraid of returning because he thought that she was afraid of him. But he came as soon as he thought that she was in danger.

Sasuke was quiet for a while. He had been thinking over that same question on the drive over. But he always came up with the same answer. "If you didn't remember me I would still protect you. If you were still afraid, I would just stay out of sight."

Sakura couldn't believe his answer. It warmed her heart and brought tears to her eyes. His devotion to her was astounding. She tentatively grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. He wasn't a fan of public displays of affection but she just wanted to hold him. Actually she wanted to kiss him senseless but he probably wouldn't want to be caught making out on the side of the road.

When he didn't pull his hand away she wrapped her arms around his entire arm. Holding hands made Sasuke a little bit uncomfortable but he didn't mind if she wanted to hold his hand. But he was completely caught off guard when she hugged his arm. He blushed when she looked up at him with watery eyes and a huge smile on her face.

"I love you," she nuzzled his arm and repeated the phrase a few more times.

Sasuke's chest swelled. He had known that she still cared about him by her actions the night before. But hearing her say it so meaningfully made his head swim. To him what she had said a few seconds ago wasn't that big of a deal. But to Sakura it showed her how much Sasuke still cared about her, after everything they'd been through.

He leaned down to nuzzle the top of her head and kiss her forehead. Sasuke was in such high spirits that he didn't care what other people around them thought. He let her hang off his arm for the rest of their walk.

The hospital wasn't too much farther away. But they didn't stop there. Sasuke looked at the hospital as they walked passed it. "Your aunt's office isn't at the hospital?" he asked confusedly. Didn't Tsunade practically run the hospital? It would make the most sense to have her office there.

"She had to retire. Leading the organization required her full attention," Sakura explained. Managing a hospital and a secret organization of supernatural hunters is too much for anyone to take on. Especially with all the craziness with all the vampires, there would be no time for her to work at the hospital. "She still comes in when we need her for tough surgeries and special cases."

"Then who's running the hospital?" Sasuke asked. Tsunade was always head of the hospital as long as he could remember.

"I am," Sakura answered. Sasuke was shocked. She was still too young and inexperienced for that. "Well, sort of. I have a little bit of school to finish but I had a head start working with my aunt since high school and all. Right now there are a few other doctors that collaborate me to run things. And I think she was prepping me to take over anyway, she had me doing a bunch of her duties before she left."

Sakura averted her eyes when a light dusting of red covered her cheeks. She had achieved more than most in their career and she hardly started hers. Sakura was humble and talking about it was embarrassed her.

"Congratulations doctor," Sasuke smirked at her. His recognition only made her blush darken.

"I'm not a doctor just yet," she argued.

"Close enough." And he was right. She did most of the procedures for the hunters now that Tsunade was so busy.

It only took a few more minutes to reach HQ, and they were both slightly disappointed when their walk as over. Sakura finally let him go when she had to punch in the code on the key pad to open the door. The inside looked pretty much the same as Sasuke remembered, it was more battered but that was to be expected. With all the things going on the last thing they were worried about was how pristine their office was.

As they went deeper into the building he noticed more people bustling about. A few waved at Sakura and only spared him an occasional curious glance. The last thing he wanted was to draw unwanted attention to himself. But of course even that was too much to ask for.

Sasuke whirled around at the sound of a cocking gun. There was a man standing behind them, holding a loaded pistol that was aimed directly at him. The man's eyes were wide and his hands were shaking. Sasuke could smell the man's fear coming off him in waves. This guy must be an older hunter, one that remembered him from before.

Quickly the rest of the hunter pulled out their weapons. Soon Sasuke had a multitude of things pointed at him; more pistols, rifles, and knives were just some of the things he noticed.

He noticed that some of the other hunters had the same fear in their eyes, and others were confused but ready to fight if something were to happen.

Sasuke held up his hands in surrender, but even that small movement was enough to startle them. But before he could do anything, Sakura moved to stand in front of him with her arms spread.

"Don't," he whispered to her. He didn't want her to shield him. He didn't want her to be hurt while trying to defend him. But she didn't move.

"How dare you come back here," the man who started all this shouted. His voice shook but his determination was firm. "Nothing to say you monster?"

Sasuke's face remained blank. He knew what he was already, he didn't care what that guy called him. "Move Sakura." He tried again to get her to leave him and get somewhere safe, but she didn't budge.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Came a loud thunderous voice. Sasuke looked away from the man to see Tsunade pushing her way through the crowd. It took her two seconds to realize what was happening. "Weapons down all of you," she ordered.

"B-but ma'am," the hunter stuttered. Tsunade ignored him and stomped over to the two of them.

"You took your sweet ass time coming back," she glared at him. Before Sasuke or Sakura could respond she grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt and started dragging him down the hall. Sasuke was startled from such rough treatment and stumbled from the sudden jerk. "Don't you all have work to do!" Tsunade shouted over her shoulder as she continued to pull Sasuke along.

Everyone else was just as stunned as Sasuke and had no choice but to obey. They put away their weapons and tried to go back to what they were doing before. But now the room was filled with whispers and murmurings.

Sakura didn't want to hear what they were saying about him and hurried after Sasuke and her aunt.

**A/N: Wow! I haven't been paying too much attention to how popular this story was getting. I'd like to give a huge thank you for everyone that has read/followed/fav'd/reviewed my story. The last two chapters had over 20 reviews each! Currently it has 360+ followers and 260+ favorites. That's amazing!**

**And now I feel bad. So many people are enjoying this story and here I am struggling to write and get these chapters out quicker. Thank you again everyone for enjoying my story and sticking with me through my terribly slow updates.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Sasuke wasn't sure what to do when he was violently dragged into Tsunade's office. At first glance the room was rather spacious with a large desk near the back. A tidy collection of book and records lined the wall and overflowed onto her extremely cluttered desk. She finally released him when they reached the center of the room. Sasuke remained rooted to the spot and Tsunade stomped over to her desk and collapsed into the chair. She rubbed her temples and Sasuke could see the red tinge that covered her cheeks. She was either really mad or already tipsy and Sasuke was sure it was the later.

"So, how are you?" Tsunade asked. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. There was no way she brought him all the way over here for some small talk. Seeming to know what he was thinking, Tsunade rolled her eyes at him. "Geez I was just being polite. No need to be so uptight." She grumbled under her breath, too quiet for him to hear, but he knew that she was probably cursing him.

"I'm fine. Sorry about that," Sasuke apologized for making a scene earlier, even if it wasn't really his fault.

"Did you expect anything less?" Tsunade shrugged, it was almost guaranteed that something would explode the moment Sasuke came back. "Why are you here?"

"Your vampire problem caught my attention. I'm here to help." That wasn't the only reason he was here, but it was forced him to return after all these years.

Tsunade eyed him for a second before grinning broadly.

"Good!" she shouted. This was going better than he expected.

Then Tsunade reached into her desk and pulled out a needle. "When we did a biopsy on one of vampires bodies we found something in their blood that was strange. I'd like to compare it to yours."

His blood shouldn't have any similarities to the vampire's. If anything, human blood would be more similar. But he agreed to let her take a sample anyway. He was a little wary, but he trusted Sakura's aunt. And he wanted to be of use to them, even if it was something simple like this.

"These things are faster and stronger than normal. There is something unnatural about them," Tsunade explained while drawing a small vial of his blood.

What does that have to do with him? Then it clicked.

"You think Orochimaru has something to do with this?" Sasuke asked. She nodded. Sasuke glowered, that was the man who turned him into a monster. "Why would he be helping them?"

Tsunade sighed and hung her head. "He has been obsessed with immortality for years. And you know that vampires are practically immortal." Vampires will never die of old age or sickness, but they can still be killed in battle. "They must be promising him something in return for his help."

"So what are you doing about them?" Sasuke asked. He could see Tsunade's eyes darken and her lips pull down into a frown at his question.

"Right now we're just trying to keep everyone safe. We already lost a lot of good hunters. They're just too strong for us to go on the attack." It was hard for her to admit that her people weren't able to protect themselves.

"What can I do to help?" Sasuke offered.

"Lie low for now. I need to do some damage control since your sudden appearance caused quite a ruckus outside." They could really use his help but she had to find a way to get the rest of the association to work with him. "If you didn't notice I had to call for reinforcements. Most of them are pretty old fashioned and probably won't be very accepting." That was fine, he wasn't expecting anything less.

With a slight nod Sasuke turned around and started to leave. But before he could get very far Tsunade had one more last thing to tell him. "I'll contact you with the results after we run some tests on your blood." Sasuke nodded, he was really curious as to what they would find. "And I know it's been a while, but go easy on Sakura. Damn, it looked like she was attacked."

Sasuke stomped out of the room, trying to hide his embarrassment. That morning Sakura had to bandage the side of her neck where he had bit her. But it didn't cover the hickey on her collar bone. Tsunade's booming laugh followed him all the way down the hall. She had to get her kicks somehow.

Xxx

When Tsunade took Sasuke away, Sakura tried to follow them. As she walked along she could hear fearful whispers from the other hunters. A few even gave her a few nervous glances. She was known as the crazy girl who loved a werewolf. But she was also pretty well known from her work at the hospital and most people liked her. Most times they just ignored that one fact about her. She didn't particularly care what they said about her, but she didn't like how they talked about Sasuke. They were all judgmental and knew nothing about him.

Forcing herself to ignore the whispers, Sakura went after Sasuke. Tsunade seems pretty angry and she hoped that she wouldn't take it out on him. Sakura heard the office door slam and was forced to wait in the hall. Now all she could do was wait.

"Sakura!"

Looks like she didn't have to wait long at all. She turned around to see Ino running towards her. Sakura smiled and waved to her friend but faltered when she saw the scowl on Ino's face.

Uh oh.

"How could you leave me hanging like that?! I've been waiting to hear from you all night," Ino scolded.

"What?"" Sakura was confused. Just what was she so upset about?

"I send Sasuke to you and you don't even call me! I'm freaking out all night and you don't even bother to text me back!" Ino shouted. Sakura reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. She had grabbed it on the way out this morning out of habit. She nearly grimaced when she saw all the missed calls and messages she had gotten from Ino the night before.

"Sorry," Sakura apologized, "I've been a bit distracted." With Sasuke returning she didn't even think about telling the rest of her friends. She wanted him a bit to herself first. But if Ino was the one to see him first it would explain how Naruto knew that Sasuke was back. Ino was always a bit of a gossip, it's no surprise that she immediately spread the news about Sasuke's return.

Ino's frown slowly turned into a smirk as she took in Sakura's appearance, paying special attention to the bandage on her neck. "Oh, I see how it is. He must have kept you real distracted." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Sakura.

Sakura blushed, "It's been a really long time okay. We had a lot of catching up to do." Sakura tried to defend herself but her poor choice of words only made Ino laugh more.

"Well, no matter how you two decided to reconcile, I'm glad he's back. You already seem so much happier," Ino smiled. At first she was worried how the two would act toward each other after being separated for so long, but now it seemed like she was worrying for nothing.

"Thank you for bringing him Ino. He looked really nervous at first, especially since he saw my date drop me off," Sakura said.

Ino gasped and her eyes widened. "I completely forgot that you had a date. How did it go? Never mind, stupid question. How did Sasuke take it? Was he jealous?"

"I think he was a little. But after I told him I wouldn't be dating anymore he was fine," Sakura answered between laughing at her best friend's excessive questions.

"I would think he feels a lot better now, look at your neck. Did he bite you while you were doing the dirty or something?" Ino joked. Sakura fingered the bandage on her neck and looked away awkwardly. Ino's eyes widened when Sakura averted her eyes. "He did!"

"Yeah, he did. But it doesn't even hurt anymore," Sakura said shyly. That wasn't necessarily true, it hurt about as much as any other cut, but it still wasn't extremely painful. She was trying not to make a big deal out of it, but that didn't stop Ino.

Ino didn't really expect Sakura to admit it. This just made it more fun for her. "Wow, what a savage," she laughed.

"It's a…culture thing." Sakura fumbled to find the proper wording for what she was trying to explain.

Ino snorted then started laughing, "Culture?"

Sakura blushed, she was just making this worse for herself. "Oh you know what I mean." She was saved from any further embarrassment when she heard the office door open and close. Sakura let out a sigh of relief when she saw Sasuke walking towards them. Ino sobered up and stifled her giggles, she could tease Sakura more later. Making fun of Sasuke probably wasn't the safest thing for her to do.

He looked slightly uncomfortable but he seemed fine other than that. "How did it go?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I'm basically supposed to keep out of trouble until Tsunade spreads the word that I'm not a threat."

"Is that all?" Sakura asked. They were talking a bit long for just that.

"She is also running tests on my blood. She thinks that the vampires might be linked to Orochimaru, and since I'm a past experiment we might have chemical similarities in our blood." Sasuke refused to look her in the eye during his explanation.

Sakura frowned at this as he filled her in. She didn't want him to think of himself as an experiment, monster, or abomination. To her there was nothing wrong with him. He was just Sasuke.

He was caught off guard when Sakura threw her arms around him. "Don't say things like that about yourself," he heard her mumble into his chest. Sasuke's lips quirked into a small smile and rested his hand on the top of her head. Sakura was so kind hearted, he felt so lucky to have her.

Their moment was interrupted by Ino squealing, "You guys are so cute!" Sakura turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Ino, and wrapped her arms tighter around Sasuke.

"Thank you for helping me yesterday," Sasuke spoke up.

"Oh, no problem," she replied. She never expected Sasuke to thank her. Now that she teased Sakura and found Sasuke she could get onto more important matters. "Do you guys have any plans for the day?"

"No, not really," Sakura shook her head.

Ino grinned, "Great! Naruto is getting everyone together for a lunch as a welcome back party!" So that's what his 'errands' were that morning.

XxXx

Normally Sasuke wasn't into social gatherings like these but he felt rather obliged to go to this one. The luncheon was pretty much for him and it would be nice to see everyone again.

They were meeting at Ichiraku. Since Naruto was setting everything up it wasn't a surprise that he would go to his favorite restaurant. They parted ways with Ino soon after leaving HQ. She said something about going to pick up someone.

As the meeting time got nearer, Sasuke began to get a little nervous. As if she could sense his worry Sakura smiled warmly at him. Her expression made him feel a little more confident but it didn't completely quell the anxious squirming in his stomach.

When they arrived Sasuke was amazed to see that the restaurant had upgraded since he was away. When he was last home Ichiraku had been little more than a food stand but now it's residence was a nicely kept building. They could already hear loud voices coming from inside so the others must be there.

When they walked in their group of friends was easy to spot. They were the largest group towards the back where the loud voices were originating from.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" Naruto waved them over exuberantly. "I told you he was back!"

Sasuke was surprised how many people came. Everyone he grew up with was here; even people he never expected like Shino and Shikamaru. There was a chorus of 'welcome back' and 'long time no see'. A few of them even got up to clap Sasuke on the shoulder and Lee even went as far as to hug him. Sasuke was a bit uncomfortable with all the physical contact and being the center of attention, but he tried hard not to show it.

When they were seated a waitress came around to take their orders.

"I'm ready! But not everyone else is here just yet," Naruto announced before rattling off his request. Looking around, the only person that Sasuke could see was missing was Ino. So who was she supposed to pick up if everyone was already here?

A second later Ino walked through the entrance holding hands with some guy that he never saw before. "Sorry we're late!" Ino cried and pulled the guy right up to him. The man she brought had short black hair and really pale skin with a very friendly smile. "This is Sai!"

Sai managed to give Sasuke a friendly wave before Ino dragged him away to sit near Tenten. Sasuke watched curiously as Ino held onto Sai's hand even after they sat down. He leaned over to Sakura and whispered, "Who's he?"

"He was originally stationed in a different area but they were all called back when we the attacks started," Sakura began to explain, "He's a little socially awkward but he's a nice guy."

"Him and Ino?"

"She and Shikamaru broke up a while ago. If they could even be considered being together in the first place. They're both agreed that they better off friends," Sakura said. Sasuke wasn't entirely interested in his friend's love lives but he still found it interesting.

"Anything else did I miss?" Sasuke asked. Sakura brought her fist to her mouth as she thought. What things would Sasuke find interesting?

But before she could come up with anything they were both distracted by more commotion on the other side of the table. Three more people suddenly showed up.

"Geez you couldn't even invite me to lunch!" An aggressive looking blond girl walked up to Shikamaru and slapped him on the side of the head. She was flanked by two other men. One was wearing a black sweater with the hood up and the other had bright red hair.

"It was a last minute thing, my friend just got back," Shikamaru said calmly and rubbed the side of his head where she smacked him. "And you're hanging out with your brother's anyway."

"Do you mind if we eat with you guys?" the one in the hoodie asked. Without waiting for an answer he slipped into the seat next to Kiba.

"Of course the more the merrier!" Naruto cheered. They scooted over to make space for the three newcomers.

Sasuke watched them curiously. They seemed to mingle well enough with his friends. The guy in the hoodie and the girl instantly started up conversations with other people around the table. The third guy with the red hair was a bit more curious. He sat silently next to Naruto and brought up a menu to cover his face.

"Those three are part of the reinforcements that were brought in. The girl is Temari and her brothers are Kankuro and Gaara," Sakura explained. She pointed out each person as she named them. No wonder they didn't look familiar to him.

"I thought that everyone was called back a long time ago? What was your friend doing away for so long?" Temari asked.

It was a reasonable question, but not ne they had an answer for.

"We kind of lost contact. But he's home now and we're just glad to have him back," Naruto responded and quickly moved on to change the subject.

The three newcomers settled in quickly and easily blended into their group. Sasuke was a bit more nervous about them. They didn't seem to know about him and he didn't know how they would react once they found out. He observed them for a few minutes and watched how they interacted with his friends. It was obvious that they were used to them by watching how they interacted.

They seemed kind enough. But when he looked over to the one called Gaara he froze. He wasn't expecting the other man to be staring directly at him. After a few tense seconds Gaara looked away and started conversing with Naruto.

It was hard to distinguish through all the food smells but Sasuke was certain that Gaara smelt like demon. It didn't seem like he was possessed, but it seemed similar to Naruto's predicament. When Sasuke first met Naruto the two boys immediately knew that the other was not human. Did Gaara figure him out just as quickly? If he did, he didn't seem concerned.

Before Sasuke could continue contemplating he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. He may have had a cell phone but it didn't mean he used it much. And he received calls even less.

"Shit!" he growled when he saw who was calling him. With everything going on he had completely forgotten to check in with Itachi. "I'll be right back," he mumbled and got up to find a quieter place to talk.

"Hey you asshole! You have a phone and you never game me your number. I thought we were best friends?!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke smirked but otherwise ignored him.

"Hello?" he answered it as soon as he got outside.

"I was starting to worry about you." Itachi 's voice was calm but Sasuke could hear the slight worry in his tone.

"Sorry, I've been preoccupied," Sasuke apologized.

Itachi chuckled, "I bet."

Sasuke felt the back of his neck heat up in embarrassment. It was much more uncomfortable when his brother was teasing him about rekindling his relationship with Sakura than when other people mentioned it.

"Where are you staying?" Sasuke asked, trying to change the subject.

"A hotel. I'll text you the address." Sasuke hadn't really thought about where they were going to be staying. He automatically assumed that he would be staying with Sakura. But then where would that leave Itachi?

"I'm sure that Sakura wouldn't mind if we stay at her house. Staying at a hotel is expensive."

"It's alright. It's just temporary until I can find an apartment. And I'm sure that you two will want your privacy," Itachi replied.

Sasuke was glad that he was alone for this conversation. The redness had moved to his face now.

"So when do I get to meet her?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke pondered for a little while. He still needed to figure out her schedule. "I'll have to talk to her. I'll let you know." He was actually a little excited to introduce Sakura to Itachi. His brother had been very curious about her but he refrained from asking too many questions since it used to pain him just thinking about her.

"Don't forget to call me this time," Itachi chuckled.

"I won't." The side of Sasuke's mouth quirked upwards in a small smile. After a brief good bye, he hung up.

When he turned around to head back to the others he nearly crashed into someone behind him. "What the fuck?!" Sasuke growled.

"Well, that's not very nice." Sasuke was met by the smiling expression on his old teachers face. Kakashi was extremely sneaky, it's what made him such a good hunter.

"Sorry, you startled me," Sasuke apologized, even though his tone didn't reflect it.

"You must have been really deep in thought not to sense me coming," Kakashi said. Sasuke nodded he was trying to figure how he was going to make everything workout. "Or maybe you've gotten old and lazy when you ran away."

Kakashi's twinkling eye met Sasuke's deep frown with a small laugh. "If anyone's old it would be you," Sasuke growled. The elder hunter grasped his chest exaggeratedly as if Sasuke had actually wounded him. His dramatic display made Sasuke roll his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I can see your manners haven't improved. Naruto called me and said that they were having lunch. I have some stuff to do at the office so I was just stopping by to see you." Kakashi continued to smile.

Sasuke's eyes widened, he was taken off guard. He didn't expect a reason like that.

"I'm glad you're back. If you ever need anything let me know," Kakashi's tone became serious.

"Thanks," Sasuke nodded. He didn't express it, but he really appreciated Kakashi's help.

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled in a familiar way that Sasuke knew he was smiling. "Don't go off running again. And take care." He ruffled Sasuke's hair as if he were a small child then walked off in the opposite direction.

Sasuke couldn't help but let out a small smile. When he had left he had assumed that they all hated him. But he couldn't have been more wrong. All these people were worried about him. They still cared about him.

The rest of the lunch was rather pleasant. Sasuke fit back into the group like he had never left. There were a few awkward moments where he could tell they were holding back questions or comments. Sasuke and Garaa still threw each other wary glances but neither acted any farther than that.

After about an hour of eating and conversing, people slowly started to leave. Most of them had work or some other kind of duties to attend to. Their numbers slowly trickled down until it was only Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto left.

"That was a nice lunch," Sakura smiled as the three of them leisurely walked through town. "Thanks for getting everyone together Naruto."

Naruto grinned widely, "No problem!"

Now that no one else was around Sasuke could finally ask a few questions that were bugging him. "So who were those guys?" Even if they were introduced he didn't really know much about them.

Sakura recapped a bit about Sai. Sasuke learned that he was an extremely talented artist that was a little snarky. But overall he was a nice guy. "He and Ino go pretty well together. She can boss him around and he just kinda goes along with it," Sakura shrugged.

"She was too energetic for Shikamaru. He couldn't handle her," Naruto laughed.

"I don't know. Temari is kind of high spirited too," Sakura said.

Sasuke nearly jumped when Naruto suddenly grasped his shirt sleeve and began shaking him. "Don't make her mad! She's fucking scary when she's mad," Naruto cried. By his horrified expression, he probably angered her a few times before.

Sasuke pulled his arm free while Sakura laughed at Naruto's reaction. "She's not that bad," Sakura continued, "Her and her brothers are actually from an allied association. They sent a bunch of their hunters to help us." Sasuke knew some of this from when Tsunade was filling him in.

"What's with the red head?" Sasuke directed his questions to Naruto who knew exactly what he was getting at.

"He's like me. Garaa was cursed by this super grouchy tanuki. I don't know the details but now he has trouble sleeping because of some pretty bad nightmares." Naruto paused, a frown forming on his normally cheerful face. "It's been way harder for him since the hunters from his own organization don't really like him." Then suddenly Naruto's sour expression became elated again. "His curse allows him to move the earth. Some other guys are freaked out about it but it's so cool!"

Sasuke felt bad for him. They were pretty much in the same boat.

"He and Naruto really hit it off. I think it was a good for him to come here. It gave him a chance to meet someone in a similar situation. And most of here are already used to Naruto, so he wasn't faced with as much prejudice," Sakura said.

"We're like super good friends now!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke wasn't surprised. Both Naruto and Sakura had really big hearts, and easily befriended others. He counted himself lucky to have them.

When they finally parted ways with Naruto, Sasuke could finally ask Sakura about Itachi.

"Any plans tonight?" he asked.

"No, why?" Sakura tilted her head slightly to the side at his question.

"My brother wants to meet you." Sasuke smirked when Sakura's eyes twinkled with excitement.

**A/N: Sorry for the extra-long wait for a boring filler chapter. It wouldn't let me upload for some reason, so I had to use the copy paste method. Because of that I couldn't use the line as my section break :/ Thank you to all the people who reviewed and tell me not to worry. I'm trying to create high quality work and I hope it's up to everyone's standards. Now that most of the introduction of new characters are done, it should become more exciting.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

**A/N: I've gotten a few reviews asking about Team Taka. Sorry no they won't be making an appearance. I have enough characters to juggle and I pretty much have the rest of the story figured out already and adding them in would complicate things.**

Sakura could hardly contain her excitement as they made their way to Itachi's hotel room. When she asked Sasuke about his brother he only gave her a poor vague description. Out of the blue, she gasped making Sasuke jump.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We can't just top buy empty handed. It's not nice." Sakura inwardly began to panic.

Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes at her. The way she started to panic made him think that it was something way more important than that.

"There's no need. He's been waiting to see you so I'm sure that's all he really wants," Sasuke said.

Sakura argued a little more but eventually gave in. Stopping to get something would make them late and she didn't want to make a bad impression. And what would she get him if they did stop? What if she got him something he doesn't like?

Sasuke watched as she slouched next to him pouting. Breaking character, he kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry okay. He doesn't have any expectations. Just be yourself." His reassurance made her feel a little better. While she was excited to meet him she was also very nervous. This was Sasuke's only living relative, so she was certain that he cared for Sasuke just as much or even more than she did.

They parked Sakura's car and walked into the hotel lobby. The hotel wasn't fancy or very flashy. It looked very simple, a 3-star one at best. But Itachi wasn't looking for luxury. All the needed was a nice place to sleep that wasn't overrun with roaches or bed bugs. Itachi had very simple tastes, and he didn't exactly have an ample amount of money to throw around.

They took the elevator to the 5th floor and walked all the way down the hall. When they stood in front of the room door Sasuke looked over to Sakura. She was biting her bottom lip and her hands shook slightly with nervousness. He reached over and grasped her hand, stopping her trembling.

"Ready?"

Sakura took a deep steadying breath and nodded. Sasuke raised his hand and knocked on the door. Itachi must have been waiting for them and opened the door almost immediately after the third knock.

Sakura was shocked. She knew she should have expected it, but it took her by surprise at how alike the two brothers looked.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Itachi held out his hand for Sakura to shake. Breaking out of her stunned stupor she smiled widely and shook his hand firmly. Both of them ignoring the fact that she had been staring at him a few seconds ago.

"Same here. I always wanted to meet someone from Sasuke's family," Sakura said.

After some basic introductions Itachi welcomed them into his hotel room. Sasuke couldn't help but smile as he watched how well his girlfriend and brother got along.

"I ordered some room service," Itachi indicated to some covered plates.

"You didn't have to do that," Sasuke said.

Itachi shook his head. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't feed my guests?" Sasuke could feel Sakura's eyes burning into the side of his head. She was pouting at him; they probably should have stopped to get him something. Oops.

Sasuke and Sakura sat on the bed as there wasn't really anyplace to eat in the tiny room. Itachi passed each of them a plate before sitting down in the only chair in the room. They removed the covers from the plates and the wonderful aroma of cooked beef filled the room.

"I'd like to thank you for taking care of Sasuke for all those years," Itachi said between bites.

Sakura looked up from her plate to see Itachi smiling at her and she began to blush. She must look ridiculous as she blinked at him with cheeks stuffed with food. Quickly swallowing, she responded, "There's no need to thank me. I haven't really done much of anything."

"You've done much more than you could even imagine," Itachi praised.

Sakura blushed even more at Itachi's praise and went back to eating her food. Knowing that he was embarrassing her, Itachi turned his attention to Sasuke.

"I'm assuming you'll be staying here after our assignment is complete?" he asked.

Sasuke nodded, he had no intention of leaving now that he and Sakura were back together.

"Assignment? You leaving already?" Sakura asked. He just got here. She still wanted to get to know him better. And she was sure that Sasuke didn't want to be separated from his brother so soon. "You don't have to leave. I can talk to my aunt, I'm sure she would allow you to stay here too."

"Our assignment was to check out your vampire problem. I need to call the others and report to them in the morning. And thank you, that means a lot to me. But maybe not yet. Perhaps when everything settles down then I can think about moving," Itachi replied.

Sasuke felt little bad, he was so focused on Sakura that he hadn't even thought about what his brother would do once they got here. Itachi was always looking out for him and he was only thinking about himself. When he and his brother made eye contact he knew that Itachi already knew exactly what he was thinking about. The small smile his brother gave him let him know that his brother wasn't upset or hurt by his selfishness.

Sasuke filled Itachi in on what he learned from Tsunade about the vampires. He watched his brother's expression go from content to grim.

"And I assume you haven't heard anything about the test results yet," Itachi said, "And that's very worrisome news. I'll make sure to asked for some assistance when I call the others tomorrow."

"So you're staying?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course. I can't just leave you here when things sound like they're going to get much worse."

"That's so great!" Sakura cheered, nearly bouncing in her seat.

Sasuke truly appreciated his brother worrying about them but it was going to be difficult. Tsunade was already going to have trouble getting him integrated back into the association. It would be much harder for Itachi.

"Just be careful. They don't like me but at least Tsunade is trying to convince them that I'm not a threat. I don't think that she can do the same for you; you're unfamiliar to them," Sasuke explained.

Itachi smirked, "I'm pretty good at staying out of sight." Sasuke chuckled. Itachi was an extremely strong wolf, they probably couldn't hunt him if they wanted to.

After that, the topic of conversation became much lighter. Sakura asked Itachi what Sasuke was like before she knew him, much to Sasuke's embarrassment. And Itachi learned about Sakura's current profession and how she was excelling in school. Before they knew it, it was starting to get late.

"I'm sorry but I should really be going. I have class in the morning," Sakura said reluctantly. She was enjoying herself and Itachi was much kinder than she ever imagined. It was really great to finally meet him. With a nod the two men walked her to the door. Sakura was elated when Itachi offered her a goodbye hug rather than a business like hand shake.

"If you don't mind I would like to keep Sasuke for the night. We have a few things to discuss and I'm going to need his help with a few things," Itachi said once he released her.

"Sure," Sakura agreed. She would feel bad if she completely stole Sasuke from his brother.

On the other hand, Sasuke raised an eyebrow and gave his brother a quizzical look. In all honesty he would rather have gone with Sakura but he refrained from voicing his opinion.

Sasuke wrapped his arms around her waist to give her a proper good-bye. He glanced at his brother who had turned around and was stepping out onto the hotel balcony to give them a little privacy. Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face under his chin. They shared a short kiss before slowly stepping apart.

"I'll call you in the morning," Sakura said and gave him one more kiss on the cheek before leaving for the night.

After the door closed behind her Sasuke walked out to the balcony to see what his brother wanted to talk about. Itachi was leaning against the rail and looking up at the night sky. It was rather peaceful. The half-moon was slightly obscured by clouds and the sky was speckled with stars.

"She seems very nice," Itachi said. He could see why Sasuke loved her. She had a very kind heart. "I think mom and dad would have liked her too."

That made Sasuke smile. He was glad that Itachi thought well of Sakura, he just wished that she had the chance to meet his parents too. While his father would have been wary he would have come around eventually, and his mother would have loved her immediately.

"Are you being safe?" Itachi asked.

Now Sasuke was confused. "What?"

Itachi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Do I really need to have the sex talk with you?"

Oh, that kind of 'safe'.

Sasuke blushed, no they haven't. "I didn't think it was possible for us to conceive since we're technically different species." If he was being honest, Sasuke never really put much thought into it before.

Itachi smiled slightly at his brother, "You keep focusing on how you are different instead of how you're the same."

"You're right. But there isn't any history about cross species children either," Sasuke argued.

"There is always a chance."

Sasuke didn't know what he wanted to believe. He knew Sakura would be wonderful with kids but he wasn't so confident in himself. And any child of theirs would most likely be poorly treated by others. He already wasn't liked by many and any of his children would probably get the same treatment by default.

Sasuke groaned and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Sensing his internal struggle Itachi laid his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Don't worry too much about it. Everything will be fine. Just remember that you have my support and I'm sure your friends will be there too."

It was comforting to know that not everyone was against them. Their friends would probably be happy for them and not repulsed like Sasuke expected the rest of the association to react. Itachi was always good at making him feel better about himself.

"What do you think about us having kids?" Sasuke asked.

"If I approve?"

Sasuke nodded.

"I can see that the two of you really care for one another. I don't see why you wouldn't try for kids at some point in time," Itachi smiled, "And it's been a long time since I've babysat."

The two brothers chuckled as the reminisced about the past. Puppies were a handful. Sasuke could remember getting into quite a bit of trouble. And because Itachi was responsible for him he ended up getting unintendedly dragged into the mess too.

After a while of relaxing and admiring the city lights Itachi broke the peaceful silence.

"I'm about to go on a patrol, would you like to come?" he asked. Because vampires were nocturnal they had the best chance of locating them at night.

Sasuke nodded. That was Itachi's mission after all. And it was much safer working in a pair rather than alone.

* * *

It was very early in the morning when Sasuke started walking towards Sakura's house. He and Itachi had a rather low key night. They didn't encounter any vampires but they managed to follow their scent to the seeder part of town. They didn't have the back up to pursue their find but at least now they have an idea where to keep an eye on for increased or strange activity. They assumed that the vampires here were doing more recruiting like they had been doing in the previous town they were staying in. The scent wasn't too strong to make them believe that the coven had a base in the city just yet. Which was good for them, they still had more time to prepare for the pending war.

Sasuke yawned as he caught sight of Sakura's house. He was exhausted, they didn't intend to stay out all night but time just went by so quickly. It was then that Sasuke realized that he didn't have a key to get into Sakura's house. That meant he was stuck outside until she woke up. He could always call her, but he didn't want to wake her up.

Luckily for Sasuke, the front door opened and Sakura stepped out. Her eyes widened at the sight of him.

"What are you doing here so early?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" he turned the questions toward her.

"I'm heading to the hospital before my classes start," she explained, "You look exhausted."

"We've been patrolling all night. I plan on taking a nap until you're finished with whatever you have to do today," Sasuke said.

Sakura beamed at him and gave him a hug. "That sounds like a good plan. Now go to bed, it looks like your falling asleep standing up."

He certainly felt like he was. The two shared a sensual kiss before Sakura pulled away and patted his cheek. "See you soon," she smiled.

Sasuke nodded and walked into her house as Sakura got into her car. He really wanted to sleep but Sakura probably wouldn't appreciate him getting into her bed all dirty from his run the night before. He jumped in the shower and quickly cleaned all the dirt and grime from his body. Since he still failed at retrieving all his belongings from his brother he was forced to borrow her soap. He felt like an idiot. He was just at Itachi's hotel room and it didn't occur to him to grab his things. At least no one was stupid enough to tease him if he went around smelling like a girl. Except for maybe Naruto.

As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out cold. Sasuke managed to get close to six hours of sleep when the noise of someone moving around the room brought him out of his dreams. He was only starting to rouse when he felt someone slide up next to him. Blinking a bleary eye, he could just barely make out Sakura lying next to him with her head on his chest. Yawning he lifted his arm and placed it on her waist.

"Sorry did I wake you?" Sakura whispered.

He shook his head, she kind of did but it wasn't a big deal. He did say that he would only sleep until she came back. "What time is it?" he asked, his voice was husky from just waking up.

"It's nearly 11," she responded, "My aunt gave me the day off when I went to check in early this morning. And I just finished my classes."

Sasuke hummed in response and pulled her up so that she was laying on top of him. Sakura was taken by surprise but quickly made herself comfortable. "I guess she wanted to give us a bit more time together."

Sasuke smirked, "Good." He pressed his lips against hers and his hands wandered across her back and down to her hips.

Sakura broke their kiss and gave him a strange look. "Did you use my soap?" She was answered by Sasuke's cheek turning slightly rosy. "We can go pick up some things for you so don't have to go walking around smelling like me."

"Later," Sasuke murmured before kissing her again.

Sakura leaned back slightly to giggle, "Later," she agreed. She was more than happy to continue kissing him.

When they finally broke apart Sakura moved down to the column of his neck. It started out as innocent kissing but soon she started to lick and suck on the more sensitive parts of his neck. She smirked against his neck when he moaned in approval and she could feel his growing arousal pressing against her.

Sasuke was a bit taken aback when Sakura began to take their intimacy up a notch. His plan was to kiss and maybe snuggle in bed more, but he was all too happy to oblige Sakura's advances.

Before long Sasuke flipped them over. Wasting no time, Sakura began pulling off his shirt and un doing his pants. In turn her clothes were also quickly discarded. In a matter of moments both of them were completely nude.

Sakura whimpered and squirmed beneath him when Sasuke enveloped a breast in his mouth. She encouraged him by weaving her fingers through his dark hair and wrapped her legs tightly around his hips.

Sasuke bit down slightly harder after began to tug on his hair. Sakura moaned loudly in approval. Sasuke always treated her like glass and she enjoyed when he was a bit rougher with her.

Her panting and moaning increased when Sasuke's hand wandered down to the apex of her thighs. She didn't need much coaxing before she was ready for him. She surprised him when she shoved his chest away from her and clambered onto his lap.

Both of them moaned when Sakura impaled herself on him. Sasuke growled and grasped her hips when Sakura began to move. Sakura normally wasn't this forward, but Sasuke wasn't about to complain. Watching as she rode him made his desire spike even higher. He began to guide her to a faster pace and watched as she threw her head back in ecstasy and her breasts bounced for his enjoyment.

Starting to tire, Sakura leaned down to lay on his chest. Both of them were already slick with sweat, but she didn't care. She sensually licked his chest and began to suck on his collar bone.

That was the breaking point for Sasuke. Sakura could only gasp in surprise when Sasuke flipped them over and increased the tempo. She lay beneath him, panting for breath as Sasuke moved harshly above her. Sakura's strength was spent but Sasuke didn't seem to tire. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and lifted her legs to link her ankles behind his back.

Sakura's limbs began to quake as she neared her peak. She watched in amazement as his eyes started to bleed red and his canines began to elongate so that it peaked out past his lips. Normally his eyes were red when he was excited during foreplay, but things happened so quickly this time it seemed like his body was just now catching up. It was fascinating to watch as his control over the feral side of himself began to crumble and slip away.

When her orgasm hit Sakura cried out loudly and dug her nails into her shoulders. Before she could fully recover Sasuke pulled away from her and turned her body over. He didn't waste a second and was already burying himself between her legs.

Her ears were filled with his harsh breathing and rumbling growls as he took her from behind over and over. It was her own secret pleasure. She wasn't quite sure what it was but something about the sex was better when his mind was hazed over with the carnal desire to mate.

Sasuke was moving rapidly above her, his weight pinning her to the bed. Pleasure fogged his brain and quickened his movements. He groaned as her inner muscles contracted tightly around him. He began to nuzzle and nip at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, completely losing himself in her intoxicating scent. It took a lot of his will power not to sink his fangs into the soft flesh of her neck.

His breath came out in ragged pants as his gut tightened and his orgasm rapidly approached. When he finally reached his peak he groaned loudly and pressed himself against her.

Sasuke slowly eased himself off of her and collapsed onto the bed, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Sakura slowly scooted closer to him and threw her arm around him.

Now that his mind was finally coming back to him, Sasuke remembered the conversation he had just had with his brother the night before.

_Shit_

This was an awkward conversation to start and Sasuke didn't even know where to begin. Peering down at her, she looked so peaceful and happy that he didn't want to ruin the moment. While he was still contemplating how to bring up the inevitable topic Sakura got up from the bed.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said. Sasuke nodded and watched as she walked away, his gaze fixed on her backside. When she disappeared into the adjoining bathroom Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. But then Sakura popped her head back into the room. "Would you like to join me? I could use some help," she said sweetly.

Sasuke was instantly up and following her in. He felt his mind leaving him again.

* * *

Now they were all cleaned up and properly clothed Sasuke felt like he could finally think straight again. Sakura was busy in the kitchen making them some light lunch and Sasuke was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on her tv. He wasn't really watching anything as his mind was now focused on the conversation he absolutely had to have with her. Especially after what they had done in the shower.

"Here you go!" Sakura smiled and handed him a plate with some kind of sandwich on it. Sasuke thanked her and passed the remote so she could choose what she wanted to watch. Once they both were finished eating Sasuke no longer had any more excuses.

"Are you on any kind of contraceptives? He blurted out.

Sakura looked a bit started by his sudden question, but answered him calmly. "No. A little late to ask isn't it?" She couldn't keep the humor out of her voice.

Sasuke blushed. "You kept distracting me. I meant to ask earlier."

Sakura blushed in return and scooted closer to him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. "Have you been thinking about children?" she asked. That would be a viable reason as to why he suddenly brought up this topic.

"Yeah. Itachi brought it up last night, but before that I haven't really thought about it," Sasuke admitted. He was always solely focused on her and not even thinking about the future or any consequences. "Have you thought about kids before?"

"When we first started being intimate actually. I talked to my aunt and I asked her if it was even possible," Sakura began to explain. Sasuke was intrigued, Tsunade was known for her extensive study of supernatural life, it would be interesting to know her opinion. "She said that it's highly unlikely but there's a slim chance that I would conceive."

Well that was highly disappointing, she didn't seem to know any more than they did.

"So you don't think that we could have kids?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura smiled at him, "I believe that we can. The chance of it actually happening might not be very high but I would be willing to try."

Sasuke smirked at her, "Is that you've been trying to seduce me?"

His comment made Sakura laugh, "And I think I succeeded."

Sasuke felt much better after talking to her. She didn't seem worried about them having children, in fact she seemed rather excited about it. He began to imagine them raising a family together and the idea caused a small smile to come to his face.

Sakura observed as Sasuke's expression slowly morphed into one of content and maybe happiness. She cuddled closer to him and smiled at him. In all honesty she was hoping to one day they would have their own family. And speaking of family.

"Since we're talking about family, I was thinking of going to visit mine. I'm sure they would love to see you," Sakura said. Sasuke was unsure. He was never Sakura's father's favorite person, and not to mention giving their only daughter brain damage didn't make him look very good.

"I'm sure it will be great," Sakura tried to convince him, "They've been worried about you too."

Sasuke reluctantly agreed to go. He wanted to stay in her parent's good graces, but who's to say if he was even still in it.

**A/N: I really enjoy reading you guys reviews and sometimes it even can inspire me. Many people were asking about Sakura getting pregnant because I never mentioned them using any contraceptives. Honestly, I was just going to ignore that part of the story until I got so many reviews about it. And after a little brain storming I came up with a new layer to add into the story. Thank you all for your reviews, they in part can influence the story. **

**On another note; I took some time to read a few other werewolf stories on other sites to try to get some inspiration. And sad to say...they all had practically the exact same plot. I was astounded with the lack of uniqueness. It was all so cliche and after a while I began to get almost disgusted. I really hope my story is different from all the others and special in its own way. I'm trying to think of all new ideas and avoid the most obvious cliches. Please continue to let me know what you think of my story.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

They spent the rest of the day finally collecting the rest of Sasuke's things and picking up whatever else he needed. It was rather satisfying to be finally moving in together. It was a big step forward but at the same time it didn't feel like much changed.

But they still had one thing left to do. Sasuke was still extremely nervous about going to see Sakura's parents. Even if the two of them practically raised him, he was still unsure how they would react to seeing him again. Sakura was optimistic, repeatedly telling him that he had nothing to worry about.

"Sasuke relax," Sakura said for what felt like the tenth time. They were currently driving to her parent's house that was only a few minutes away.

"I can't help it," Sasuke grumbled, "I didn't exactly leave a good impression the last time they saw me."

A frown settled on Sakura's face. "That wasn't your fault."

The rest of the short ride was filled with nerve racking silence. When they pulled up to the house the two of them sat in the car for a few minutes before finally getting out and walking toward the door.

Sakura stopped and faced her back to the door. "No matter what they say I'll always love you. And that goes for everyone, not just my parents."

Sasuke was extremely touched by her sudden confession. For a moment he forgot about his nervousness and only felt a massive amount of love for her.

"Thank you," he whispered. He cupped the side of her face and kissed her lovingly.

When he pulled back Sakura's face was glowing with happiness. "Ready?" she asked. Sasuke nodded and knocked on the door.

It didn't take long for the door to open. "There you are, we've been waiting for you," Mebuki smiled as she opened the door. They watched her expression go from happy to shocked.

"Hi mom," Sakura greeted. But she was completely ignored. Before Sasuke knew what was happening he was engulfed in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh my god! Are you okay? Where have you been?!" Sakura's mother began to hysterically blurt out questions. Sasuke felt both awkward and relieved. He was glad that Mebuki had been concerned about him and didn't seem to harbor any negative feelings toward him.

Last time he saw her they were practically the same height, but now he was almost a head taller than she was. Sasuke awkwardly wrapped his arms around her to return her hug. He felt his shirt starting to become damp where her face was resting. Sakura smiled at the scene before her. Her mom had been almost as sad as she was when Sasuke left.

Mebuki pulled away and smiled warmly at him. Her cheeks were wet with tears but her expression was happy. "I'm so glad you're finally home." Her voice quaked and her lips trembled a little. "Come in, come in." They were practically pushed into the house.

The house hadn't changed much from what Sasuke remembered. The delicious smell of prepared food wafted from the kitchen nearly making his mouth water.

But all thought of food was driven from his mind when he saw Kizashi sitting at the table. By the look on the older man's face he was caught off guard by Sasuke's sudden reappearance. The room was thick with tension. Sakura went up to her father and gave him a hug and helped him to stand when she saw him beginning to lift himself off his chair.

Sasuke stood there frozen when Kizashi picked up his cane that was leaning against the table and slowly walked toward him. Each clunk of the cane hitting the floor made Sasuke's heart pound. He averted his eyes, not able to look Sakura's father in the eye. Before he left he felt like he was finally making progress with him. But now he was back at square one, or maybe even worse than that.

Sasuke tried not to flinch when he felt Kizashi's hand clamp onto his shoulder.

"Welcome home," Kizashi murmured. Sasuke's head shot up and looked at the other man astounded. Kizashi's lips quirked into a lopsided smile making Sasuke even more shocked.

Kizashi released his shoulder and nudged him to the side. "Now move you're blocking the fridge." Sasuke quickly got out of the way, his mind still reeling from what just happened.

That was it?

Sasuke was expecting a lot worse. He never got along with Kizashi and a warm welcome was the last thing he thought he would be getting tonight. It felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off his chest.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief when she saw the reunion between her dad and Sasuke. Even when she had put on a brave face she was still a bit concerned about her dad's reaction to seeing Sasuke again. Even if he didn't show it she knew that he was at least somewhat glad that Sasuke was home. She walked up to Sasuke and gently grasped his hand in hers and led him to the table.

"Welcome home," she whispered, repeating what her father had said. Sasuke smiled from the seat next to her.

He was finally home.

* * *

A week after Sasuke returned things were slowly falling into a routine. Sakura would go to work and school and Sasuke would meet up with his brother at night. They saw their friends and Sakura's family frequently whether it was for food or just hanging out. Sakura wanted to see Itachi more but he always seemed to be busy. They had managed another couple of dinners but that was all.

By the time Sasuke got a summons from Tsunade he was very restless. Working with Itachi they had to be very low key. He wanted to do more.

When he stepped in Tsunade's office he was greeted with a wall of stares. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk surrounded by about 10 other people. He recognized a few of the older hunters, Kakashi among them, and the rest of them were a mystery.

"I'm sure you know why you're here," Tsunade started. Sasuke nodded. This would determine if he could work freely with the association or if they considered him a threat. Normally he would be worried about them trapping him if they were going to eliminate him, but he trusted Tsunade. If that's what they had decided on she would have gave him warning to get the hell out of there.

"First off I would like to let you know that it turns out that those vampires do have a similar chemical in their blood that yours does. It's not the same drug but I can safely say that they most likely originated from the same source," she stated.

Sasuke frowned. That wasn't a good sign.

"But because of that we believe that it would be best to keep you around. When we first succeeded in removing the coven years ago we had the aid of your pack. But now with them gone and the vampires are even stronger than ever it would be foolish to send you way."

Sasuke had to refrain from scoffing at her. He could have told her that the second he arrived. But he understood that she was trying to be diplomatic. It was her job to convince the others the same thing. Just because they agreed doesn't mean that they were happy with the circumstances. He could tell from the glares he was receiving that many of them still didn't trust him. The most shocking part was the amount of silent support he was getting. He knew Kakashi and Tsunade would side with him but there were also a couple others that smiled at him. He recognized them from around HQ but he never met any of them personally that he could remember.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

"There are still people that are a bit nervous around you," someone snorted but Tsunade continued talking after glaring at them, "We'll start off slow. We can have you aiding in patrols. I want you to join the one tonight. They're going to leave here at 8, and bring Sakura with you."

Sasuke nodded. Now wouldn't be a good time to bring up Itachi. These people were hardly tolerating him, adding Itachi would only make things worse right now. He left the room quietly feeling the eyes of everyone burning into his back.

At least things seemed to be moving forward. But it still felt much to slow for Sasuke, the vampires were massing an army and they still weren't doing anything.

Sakura was normally kept out of simple assignments like patrolling and spent most of her time at the hospital where she felt like she was most useful. But she didn't hesitate to join Sasuke when he informed her of the board's decision to slowly integrate him into the association.

When they arrived at the meeting point, they were both glad to see Naruto waiting for them. He jumped up at the sight of them and began waving franticly. Besides Naruto they also saw another three hunters that Sasuke didn't recognize. Unlike their friend, the remaining hunters looked like they really didn't want to be there. They seemed more afraid than angry. They averted their eyes and fingers lightly grazed over their concealed weapons.

"I'm so excited! It's been so long since I could work with you guys!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura laughed, "We can tell." She then went and introduced herself to two of the other men. Those two must be part of the group that came as reinforcements and the last member, the youngest, must be from here and Sasuke just never met him before.

Their orders were to check the outskirts of their territory to see if any more vampires were getting in. They all knew that they were sneaking in somehow but they still haven't been able to locate exactly where. They had all the roads and normal entry points under surveillance so that meant they were sneaking in through the forest.

Sasuke watched as the hunters placed night vision goggles over their faces. Walking around with a light source was practically a beacon for trouble. Once they were all set Sasuke transformed. The other hunters gasped and backed away. They had their hands on their weapons even if they knew that he wasn't a threat to them. Part of Sasuke was annoyed but the more reasonable side of him knew that he couldn't really blame them.

Sakura was taken by surprise by his sudden transformation, she wasn't used to him being able to accomplish it that quickly and without removing his clothes. But he looked just the same as she remembered. She smiled at him and leaned down slightly to wrap her arms around his neck and burry her face in his fur. Sasuke let out a deep sigh and his tail began to wag.

They both missed this.

"Alright you two, break it up. Let's get going," Naruto urged. He tried to be serious with his stern tone but the huge grin on his face gave him away. Sakura stuck her tongue playfully at him and began walking with Sasuke right behind her. The three of them lead the way with the rest of the scouting party following them.

The group had been walking for a while but everything seemed normal. Sasuke would wander off slightly before heading back to them. He could move around much more easily than they could. After what seemed like a fruitless assignment a strange smell caught Sasuke's attention. It wasn't a very strong smell; in fact, it didn't really have a scent. It was the sudden lack of forest smell that had caught his attention.

He nudged Naruto and lifted his head in obvious sign that he smelt something. Naruto was the only other person who had a strong enough sense of smell to notice the difference. Naruto sniffed the air, trying to find what caught Sasuke's attention.

"I don't smell anything," he said. Sasuke grumbled low in his throat, that was the point. He began walking in the direction where the lack of smell was coming from.

"Wait!"

Sasuke was a bit surprised that one of the other hunters finally spoke up. "We can't go that way. It's past our borders and there have been previous reports of small demons on that area. There are traps and wards already in place to keep them out." They could tell he was nervous, as the youngest with the least experience he was often passed over.

"But Sasuke wants to check it out," Naruto argued.

"And you trust him," one of the others spoke up. Hunter was much older and didn't bother hiding his distrust. While the young hunter was from here and probably heard stories about Sasuke this man wasn't. To him all he saw was a werewolf.

"Of course we do!" Sakura glowered at the man, most of her enraged expression was hidden by her goggles. "Sasuke would never purposefully take us into a dangerous situation."

"Besides the time that he attacked you and killed over 15 people."

Perhaps the new comers did hear some stories about Sasuke. Of course the only thing they would remember was that last event. The years he spent working peacefully with them was irrelevant.

Sakura stumbled over her words after the last retort. "It wasn't his fault," she said quietly.

The man scoffed. "Believe what you want you stupid girl."

Sasuke lunged forward and snarled angrily at him. The hunter jumped back in surprise and raised his gun warningly. Sauke didn't flinch and only bared his fangs more.

"Fine you guys go back. We'll check it out ourselves," Naruto intervened. He stepped between them to make sure that neither of them got hurt. The two older men grunted and began to walk away, but to their surprise the younger hunter stayed.

"You're going to come with us?" Sakura asked.

"It's our job to make sure this border is clear. He can probably sense that there is something for us to be concerned about right?" he started babbling, "I didn't mean to seem rude earlier I just wanted to catch you guys up on what was already found. If he was sensing demons, then we wouldn't need to waste time." After he finished his rushed explanation he began fidgeting in place, it kind of reminded Sakura of what Hinata used to do when she was nervous.

Naruto smiled and thumped him on the back. "We won't go much farther. And thanks for not judging Sasuke, he's not any different from us." The younger man looked over and Sasuke nervously.

Sasuke didn't expect him to try to be understanding or even polite to him. It was a nice change from the reactions he normally got. He nodded his thanks and the young hunter gave him a nod in return.

It was a nice to know that some people weren't judgmental. Again they could see the change of views between different generations. Sasuke had forgotten about their dream from long ago. They wanted to show everyone that their species could work together. After what happened that dream had been crushed. But maybe it wasn't as hopeless as he thought. This young hunter was willing to put his fears aside and trust him even if he grew up hearing otherwise.

With Sasuke in the lead they traveled past their border and into more dangerous territory. Sasuke crouched low and crawled through the brush. A musty smell was now overtaking all the other smells. Something was definitely here.

Suddenly the thick understory gave way to a small clearing. Sasuke growled softly to alert the others to be careful. The others gathered around them and watched knelt next to him.

"There's a cave over there," Naruto whispered. They looked to see where he was pointing and they could just make out the mouth of a cave that was obscured by trees and bushes. What gave it away was the broken branches between the bushes. Upon closer inspection they could see where the dirt near those bushes were more compact than the rest of the clearing. This path had been used many times.

"There's foot prints over there," Naruto pointed. It was a human shaped foot print, meaning there was a good chance that the vampires were using this cave for something. The footprints were light and barely visible but they indicated that someone had entered the cave recently. He inched forward wanting to investigate further but Sakura pulled him back.

"Don't get any closer, we don't want them to know that we found this," she whispered. If they used this path often they didn't want to risk someone picking up their scent. "Let's go back and report this."

After reporting the location of the cave many were impressed with the immediate success now that Sasuke was with them. Many of their hunters remembered him and were still a little wary but most of them didn't object to him helping. A few of the new members still didn't truly believe him and it made working with them difficult.

Another group of hunters had gone back to the same area and put up cameras around the area of the cave. Within a few days the managed to get footage of some suspicious looking characters going to the cave then coming back out a few hours later. There was a very high chance that this was how they were moving in and out of the city.

Vampire covens were normally located underground so it only made sense that they created tunnels for transportation.

* * *

With their discovery a week ago many of them agreed to work with Sasuke a little more. Many were still wary but very few of them down right refused to cooperate. Sasuke normally didn't really care who he worked with but the only person who made him nervous was Gaara.

The guy was quiet and mostly kept to himself but Sasuke just didn't really feel comfortable. He trusted Naruto's word about Gaara but he couldn't help but feel a little on edge near the demon.

Part of him was disgusted with himself. This was the same prejudice that he had to deal with since he was little. So when he had the chance to work with Gaara he didn't decline.

Sakura was busy and couldn't make it to many of the patrols he was sent on but she made sure the go on as many of them as she could. But at least Naruto was there with him the rest of the time so he wasn't alone. He was glad that the both of them could be there with him for this assignment.

They were teamed up with Gaara and his siblings along with a few other men that came with them.

Sasuke was already transformed and he leaned against Sakura while the rest of them spoke. She gently rubbed his neck and shoulders to sooth his jittery nerves.

"Well, that's rather impressive." Temari had left her brothers to talk with Naruto and was now inspecting Sasuke. Sasuke flattened his ears against his skull and glared at her. He wanted to bear his teeth, but he was still struggling to get on people's good side. But he surely didn't like getting examined.

"Relax," Temari said, "I'm not judging. I just never got to see a werewolf up close before.

"Sorry, he doesn't like being the center of attention," Sakura apologized for him.

"That sucks since he's pretty much what everyone is talking about," Temari chuckled. Her laughter caused Sakura to giggle. Sasuke then turned his glare on her. She ignored the look he was giving her and scratched his snout.

Most of the hunters that came from a neighboring region seemed to hold some kind of resentment toward him or just ignored him completely. Except for these three, they didn't seem to care.

Sadly, he could see the same prejudice being held against Gaara from his own people. Perhaps that's why he seemed so reserved at first. But watching the girls and how the two boys spoke with Naruto they seemed more lively than when they were with their own people.

It can take a long time for people to change their opinion and it seemed like they still had a long way to go.

After a few more minutes of friendly chatter they started off into the forest. All playful banter was gone and everyone was on high alert.

Their cameras showed that forest activity had been going up the past few nights and they were getting worried about the attacks increasing. It had been quiet for a while but that didn't mean that they were in the clear. They were planning something, and they still didn't know what to expect. But this time it wasn't because of Gaara. He just had a bad feeling.

The forest was eerily quiet. Even the insects seem to be missing.

Then from out of nowhere something slammed into his side. He felt strong arms wrap around his neck. The strength of his attacker was unbelievable. It felt like someone had wrapped iron cables around him. His first instinct was to thrash and shake to throw off his assailant, but it soon became clear that it wasn't enough.

His breath came in short wheezes as his windpipe was crushed closed. Raising a clawed paw, he tore into the body that was clinging to him. With the muscle of his shoulder in shreds his attacker howled in pain and loosened his hold. Sasuke took in large gasps of air to make up for his previous loss of oxygen.

His attacker as a tall vampire with a heavy build. Normally vampires are thin and lean, but this one was all muscle. His chest was broad and his arms looked as thick as tree branches.

The vampire glared angrily at him with glowing red eyes. His entire right shoulder was covered in blood. The black blood made the vampire's already pale skin look even whiter in contrast.

The two of them threw themselves viciously at one another. Sasuke could feel his opponent try to claw desperately at him. Without the use on one arm he couldn't trap him like he had done earlier. And Sasuke's thick coat prevented any major damage from mere slashes.

Sasuke finally managed to pin down the vampire and clamped his jaws around his neck. He crushed his neck with a sickening crack. He shook the body for good measure before tossing it to the side. The vile bitter taste of vampire blood almost made him gag.

But he didn't have time so celebrate his victory. He wasn't the only one that attacked. Looking around he saw that a large swarm of vampires had attacked their party. He quickly ran over to help one of the older hunters who was trying desperately to fend off three vampires with a seemingly broken arm. He pounced on the back of the largest vampire and quickly ended its life. This attracted the attention of the other two causing them to turn and attack him.

He was managing quite well against two opponents. When they would attack he would dodge and counter. This went on until they were wounded enough for him to pick off.

Without even checking on the man he just saved, Sasuke scanned the area for more threats. When his eyes found Sakura his blood ran cold. She was lying on her side with her back to him and she wasn't moving. Temari stood in front of her and was bravely defending her against a ring of vampires that were slowly closing in.

Sasuke sprinted over as quickly as he could and threw himself at the nearest vampire. Before he could finish off his prey he felt two bodies throw themselves against him. He was knocked off his feet and scrambled to right himself. But the vampires that attacked him didn't give him the chance. They clawed at his face and sunk their fangs into his flesh. Blood began to flow down his sides from the relentless attacks. While he was sustaining quite a bit of damage he wasn't about to go down easily. Even wounded he managed to practically tare off the arm of one of his attackers.

But when one more vampire leaped at him he couldn't keep up. He cried out in agony as his side was slashed open. Blood flowed down his body and created a rapidly growing pool of blood beneath his feet. He snarled viscously at the vampires as they began closing in. While he wasn't afraid of getting hurt or dying, the fact that Sakura was vulnerable scared him more than anything else. If were to lose now, who would defend her?


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Sasuke growled as his attackers slowly circled him. He was starting to become desperate. If he couldn't defeat his enemies, then who would protect everyone? His muscle began to tense and the whites of his eyes began to glow red.

His eyes moved from one vampire to the next as they planned their next attack. But it never came.

Without warning the ground around them rose up and wrapped around the vampire's bodies. Sasuke watched in both amazement and slight fear as the tendrils of earth began to constrict, crushing the vampires.

This attack wasn't restricted only to the ones attacking him. Looking around most of their assailants had been caught. He also noticed that Gaara had both of his hands pressed firmly to the ground. Was this his ability? There was a dark red aura that surrounded his hands and seeped into the ground. That energy was most likely how he was manipulating the elements. But judging from the sweat on his brow and the laborious panting it took a lot of energy to conduct this ability.

A few vampires managed to evade Gaara's attack, but without their numbers the rest of their unit was able to successfully eliminate them. Now that they were safe Sasuke raced over to Sakura. She was still lying on the ground with Temari kneeling next to her.

"She just collapsed," Temari said worriedly as Sasuke approached. "I saw her fighting and it looked like she was holding her own, but the next time I saw her she had fallen."

Sasuke began to examine Sakura. He couldn't smell any blood or see any kind of physical damage. They didn't know what was wrong. He nudged her a few times and whined, but she remained unresponsive. Sasuke transformed and gently picked her up. He was inwardly starting to panic. What was wrong?

"What happened?" Naruto shouted as he ran over to them. Sasuke ignored Naruto and pushed past his friend. They needed to get Sakura some medical attention right away. Naruto wanted to help him carry Sakura but Sasuke didn't stop. Sasuke ignored his own wounds that were still bleeding and put Sakura's wellbeing first. He wouldn't die from a few flesh wounds.

He didn't wait for the rest of them and he headed back towards the city. He glanced back at the others when he heard them following and noticed that everyone was mostly alright. Like him they all sported some cuts and bruises but no major injuries. One of the men looked like he had a pretty bad gash on his leg; painful but non-life threatening. And the man that he had saved earlier was cradling his arm.

By the time he reached the edge of the city there was a pair of SUVs waiting for them. Someone must have called for help. One of the SUV's stayed behind for the others and one rushed Sakura to the hospital.

When they arrived Sakura was put onto a gurney and rushed away. Sasuke was about to run after her but he was stopped by some other nurses. His wounds were still bleeding and he was starting to drip blood on the floor. After a little bit of resisting he agreed to get patched up. He could have easily pushed them aside but he didn't want to cause a scene. The nurses kept telling him that there was nothing he could do for her and let the doctors do their thing. They currently had no idea what happened to her so they needed the least amount of distractions as possible.

The wounds on his torso were already mostly healed. The only things he nurses needed to do was clean the lacerations and bandage them to prevent infection. The antiseptic stung when it was wiped over the battered flesh, but the pain didn't really register. His mind was so focused on Sakura that he was numb to everything else.

When he was finally let go he immediately went in search for Sakura's room. It didn't take very long to find, but the door was closed and he was told to keep out until the doctors could finish their analysis.

Sasuke paced back and forth in front of the door for what felt like an eternity. When Naruto arrived, Sasuke was still pacing. After Naruto had completed his report and checked to make sure that everyone else's injuries were being taken care of he had gone to check on his friends. Normally he would have stayed with them the whole way but this time he was forced to be the responsible one. And even if he had followed them he would have only been stuck outside like Sasuke was. Naruto wanted to comfort his best friend, but he knew that there was really nothing he could say that would help. He leaned against the wall and waited. That was all the two of them could really do.

Finally after what felt like hours, the door to the room opened two nurses stepped out. One of them swiftly walked away from the room and the other faced the two anxious men and chewed her lip nervously.

"She's okay."

The two of them let out a relieved breath that they were holding in. They began walking toward the room door when the nurse held up her hand to stop them. Sasuke glared at her for interfering and she shrank under her gaze.

"The doctor is still with her and asks that you wait outside," she gestured to Naruto.

"Um, okay," he agreed. While he really wanted to see her he knew that it was more important to let Sasuke in first. He would get his chance later.

Sasuke quickly entered the room before someone else tried to stop him and closed the door behind him. He was relieved to see Sakura laying on the bed looking relatively peaceful. Next to the bed was Tsunade, wearing the iconic long white lab coat that most doctors adorned.

"So what's wrong?" Sasuke asked, his voice was much rougher than he intended it to be.

"Actually she's relatively healthy," Tsunade replied as she flipped through her charts.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. "Healthy people don't suddenly collapse."

Tsunade sighed loudly. She closed her folder and began to rub her temples. "Sakura was miscarrying."

Sasuke was stunned. "What?! I didn't smell any blood." He had always thought that miscarriages were a messy affair. And when he had checked on her when she first collapsed he didn't notice any blood.

"She probably wasn't very far along. The stain and stress of the fight probably triggered it. She only started bleeding once we were in the exam room. Has she mentioned feeling sick or tired recently?" she asked.

Sasuke's mind was still reeling at what he had just found out. Sakura was pregnant? They always knew that the chances were slim but he never actually thought that it was a realistic idea.

"Not that I can recall. She's been tired but we always assumed that it was from overworking." Sakura had been really busy lately especially since she was joining him on as many patrols as possible. "But she wasn't even hurt during the fight. Was a little strain all it took for her to-" Sasukle choked on the last bit. The words lodging themselves in his throat.

"My guess is that her body was in a very delicate state as it was. Her body was already probably starting to reject the baby. It would have happened even if she wasn't in that battle," Tsunade explained what she had discovered.

Sasuke sunk into the chair that was next to the bed. He hung his lead low cradled it in the palm of his hand. He had never really put much thought into kids past his short conversations with Sakura and his brother. But now that he had lost what would have been their first child, he was surprised at how much he actually desired one. He was a tangled jumble of feelings. He was never very emotional but now he was a mess.

The strongest feeling of all was definitely sadness, the overwhelming grief from losing their first born.

Longing. Even if he never really cared about kids he didn't know how much he would actually desire one.

Fear. How was Sakura doing? Was it even possible for them to have children?

Tsunade rested her hand comfortingly on Sasuke's shoulder. She had been extremely surprised when they had found out what caused her niece to lose consciousness. "I'm sorry," she said in a soft sincere voice. The two of them just couldn't catch a break. Every time things started to get better for them something always ruins it. "Do you want me to tell her?"

Sasuke lifted his head and looked over at Sakura who appeared to be sleeping peacefully. He nodded at her. He was a coward. He himself was still trying to come to grips with his feelings. It was already known to him that he didn't have the heart to tell Sakura. Tsunade nodded. She didn't judge him, it was going to be a very difficult and delicate topic to discuss.

* * *

Tsunade and Sasuke waited in silence for Sakura to wake up. Both of them wanted her to awaken, but dreaded the conversation that was soon to follow. After about half an hour of anxious waiting Sakura's eyes fluttered open. She seemed confused as to why she was currently in the hospital. She couldn't recall passing out during the battle.

Tsunade wasted no time in telling her the bad news. There was no point in beating around the bush. She kept all emotion out of her voice and was strictly professional. It was hard to do since all she wanted to do was cradle Sakura in her arms.

At first Sakura just sat there stunned, her eyes moving from her aunt to Sasuke them back again. Sasuke clenched his pants tightly and looked away from herm unable to watch as Sakura started to break down.

At first Sakura thought that she had heard wrong. There was no way that her aunt just said what she thought she heard. But when neither of the other two occupants in the room could look her in the eye she knew it was true. Tears began slowly dripping down her face. Then before she could stop it her crying had erupted into full blown heart wrenching sobbing.

Tsunade quietly excused herself and Sasuke moved to sit on the edge of the bed and wrapped an arm comfortingly around her. But she was numb to her surroundings. It took a while but Sakura's crying eventually died down to quiet sniffles.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Even with his sharp hearing Sasuke almost missed it. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault." Sasuke stroked her hair trying to comfort her. That was all he could do. What else could he say to make her feel better? They were both mourning.

Sakura leaned into Sasuke for support and absentmindedly ran her hand over her stomach. She wasn't even aware that they had conceived and it would have been much too early for her to be showing.

A baby. They could have had a baby, but even her own body was opposing them. She knew the miscarriage was most likely caused by the fetus not developing properly or her body just didn't recognize it as a part of her. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to suppress the pathetic whimper that escaped her lips.

Sasuke cupped the side of her face and gently brushed away the tears with his thumb. His action made Sakura look up to take in expression for the first time. She could let that he was trying to be strong to support her since she immediately fell to pieces. But she could see the sadness and hurt in his eyes. Beneath that there was also a comforting warmth. She had no words to express how she was feeling so she opted for a small smile.

'I'll be okay soon.'

Sasuke seemed to understand and laid a kiss on her forehead. While she knew that they would always love each other it was still hard to accept that they may never become parents. She had always imagined herself having children one day, it never occurred to her when she was little that it might be impossible. The two of them sat in silence for the rest of the night, drawing comfort from one another.

Sakura didn't stay long in the hospital and the soon returned home. Tsunade gave her a week off of work to recover both mentally and physically. She had offered more time but Sakura was adamant that one week was enough. She told her teachers that she was sick and agreed to pick up the work she missed the next week on top of the new things they were going to cover.

It was a rough week. Her body healed quickly but the emotional trauma was harder to cope with. Sasuke had gone alone to speak with Itachi who was now living in a small apartment. Itachi didn't appear shocked by the news of Sakura's pregnancy but he was nearly as upset as they were when he learned of their child's death. Sasuke didn't want to stay long. He left Sakura at home to rest and didn't want to be away for too long. Itachi understood and knew that his brother was also struggling emotionally and probably needed Sakura's presence as much as she required his.

There were some important things to discuss about their mission, but now wasn't a good time. His short visit ended with Itachi making him promise to call more and keep in touch.

The hardest part had to be when they visited Sakura's parents. Her parents made it a point to have them over for dinner at least once a week.

When they arrived and Sakura saw her parents, she immediately burst into tears. Mebuki reacted quickly and drew her daughter into her arms and directed them towards the couch. Kizashi was shocked. Sakura wasn't one to randomly start crying. He hadn't seen her cry this hard since she was little. He sat on Sakura's other side while his wife tried to comfort her. Sasuke waited near the doorway, not wanting to intrude and trying not to draw attention to himself.

"What happened?" Mebuki asked softly. She was confused but didn't want to upset Sakura more than she already was.

It took a few minutes before Sakura answered. "We had a miscarriage," she mumbled into Mebuki's shoulder. Her voice wavered no matter how hard she tried to be strong.

Mebuki gasped and hugged her daughter even closer. "I'm so sorry sweetie." Both her parents shared a saddened glance. Mebuki slowly removed her arms from around Sakura's body and stood up. After Sakura was let go, Kizashi gently pulled his daughter toward him. Sakura quickly attached herself to her father and drew comfort from him. He had no words to say and simply held her.

Mebuki walked toward Sasuke who was still lingering on the edge of the room. Before he could stop her she caught him in a bone crushing hug. After getting over his shock, he hesitantly retuned her hug. He blinked back the tears that created a film over his eyes.

The embrace of a mother was something he hadn't felt in ages. It was such a long time ago that his own mother held him in her arms. But with Mebuki he could practically feel how much she thought of him as her own son. Until that moment he never realized how much he missed a mother's love.

Dinner was quickly forgotten about and the night was spent in quiet mourning. Sasuke was a little surprised that neither parent had expressed any concern about Sakura baring a child of his. They had reacted like any other concerned pair of almost grandparents. Out of the tragedy that befell them, that small fact made him feel a little better.

* * *

One the last day before Sakura went back to work they were surprised by a visit from Naruto, Hinata, Ino and Sai. When Sakura opened the door she was nearly knocked over by Ino. Her best friend threw her arms around her shoulder and practically pushed her to the floor.

"Is it true?!" Ino shouted.

"What?" Sakura sputtered. Sasuke was just watching curiously from the living room while the others slowly filtered into the house and closed the door behind him. Sasuke had a sinking feeling as his eyes fixed on Naruto. The blond looked nervous and he hadn't said a word since they arrived which was odd considering how loud he normally was.

"Did you…did you really have a miscarriage?" Ino bit her lip as the asked the dreaded question. Sakura's eyes widened when she heard Ino's question. No one was supposed to know about that. They had tried to keep it quiet, the only person they told were their families.

They had very minimal contact with everyone and didn't tell anyone else of Sakura's condition. Even Naruto had been kept out of the loop. He had been dismissed while he was waiting outside the hospital room that day after getting reassured that Sakura was indeed alright. He didn't want to leave but it was very late and he still wasn't allowed in so he was forced to go home.

Sakura opened and closed her mouth a few times but no words came out. Her eyes wandered to each of her friends that came to visit. Each of them had a worried expression. Sakura felt her eyes beginning to water and she nodded.

The other day she had vowed to stop crying but when Hinata came over to add to Ino's hug she couldn't stop a few tears from escaping.

They had moved from the door way and into the living room. The girls all huddled together on the couch and the guys found seats where they could. Sai had stopped in the kitchen to leave a card and a box that smelled like some kind of pastry. If the rumors they heard had been wrong, then he could have just kept the card; you didn't need an excuse to bring food when visiting someone.

Ino looked too distracted to think of things like that so they had to assume the gifts were Sai's idea. Sasuke didn't expect a gesture like that from Sai. While he had very few reactions with the guy he assumed that Sakura must have been rather close friends with him.

"How did you find out?" Sasuke asked.

"We heard some of the other guys talking about it," Naruto explained, "It was just a rumor and I assumed that Sakura was just recovering from that fight we had that's why she's been out for a while." Naruto looked away and shifted nervously. He was always a happy spirit, having to deal with a sad tragedy like this one made him uncomfortable, especially since his best friends were involved.

Sasuke shrugged, it's not like they wanted to announce it but they weren't really trying to keep it a secret either. But knowing that someone was spreading rumors about them was a little concerning. "It's not a big deal."

Naruto stood up abruptly. "It is a big deal!" Sasuke could tell that he wanted to say more but he was forcing himself to remain silent. Sakura unwound herself from her girlfriends and walked up to Naruto to give him a hug.

Naruto sniffled and squeezed Sakura tightly against him. When he had heard the rumors that were circling around HQ he couldn't believe it. His best friends already had so much sadness happen in their lives this just seemed like too much. He felt bad for them. It hurt more that there wasn't anything he could do for them.

"It'll be okay," Sakura said and rubbed circles on his back.

That made Naruto laugh, "I'm supposed to be comforting you not the other way around."

"I've accepted it," Sakura smiled sadly. There was no point in dwelling on it. They only thing they could do is move on. "There's always next time."

"Name the next one after me okay!" Naruto cheered.

Before Sasuke could shoot down Naruto's desires Sai beat him to it.

"People name their children after those who have accomplished amazing feats. I have yet to see you do anything worth naming an innocent child over," Sai smiled happily at a gaping Naruto.

Sai's comment reduced Naruto into throwing a fit while the girls giggled at his expenses. Sasuke smirked; he was starting to like this guy.

* * *

When Sakura went back to work she received much more hugs and well wishes than she expected. Apparently the association was full of gossip hounds and practically everyone heard about her condition. She was grateful for the support and it was nice to know how many people were concerned about her wellbeing. Sakrua was kind and many of her coworkers liked her. But there were other people who kept their distance and whispered behind her back. Sakura noticed them giving her weary looks when they thought she wasn't looking.

These people were against all supernatural beings and it horrified them that someone would associate with one. It was heart wrenching to hear when she caught snippets of their cruel whispers. They were appalled that she had slept with a werewolf and nearly bore him children.

_What was wrong with her that she was drawn to monsters?_

_How could she let something like that touch her?_

_Did that beast force himself on her?_

That was by far the hardest to listen to. It took all of her will power not to turn around and slap the person who said that. How dare they accuse Sasuke of something like that!? After hearing that she was in a bad mood the rest of the day.

She felt eyes following her movements continuously throughout the day. It was quite annoying and she even turned to glare at a few of them. When it was finally time for her shift to end she couldn't be happier.

Sasuke was waiting in the lobby like usual to pick her up. When she got within arm's reach of him she intertwined their fingers and leaned up to kiss his cheek. Let them gossip about that. She knew that Sasuke wasn't a fan of public displays of affection but she wanted everyone to know that Sasuke wasn't forcing her to be with him.

"What was that?" he asked about her small performance she made leaving the hospital.

Sasuke had always been touchy about their differences; she didn't want to add to his burden. "Nothing, I just missed you," she answered. Sakura leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked to her car.

Who gives a fuck what people say? This is what she wanted. What other people thought of her relationship wasn't going to change that.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long and it's a bit shorter than normal. I hate to say but my updates are probably going to be sporadic from now until the end of the story. I'm kind of losing the drive to write. Don't worry this story will finish but it just might be a while.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Slowly things started going back to normal, but there were somethings that remained different. Sakura was rather liked by everyone but now there were a few people who chose to keep their distance and avoided her at all cost. She didn't mind; in fact she preferred it that way. If those closeminded people came up and expressed their concern to her she probably wouldn't be able to control her temper. Out of everything that happened she became more determined to prove the naysayers wrong. There was no reason that she shouldn't be with Sasuke . Sakura had been rather passive all these years and allowed these people to whisper things behind their backs. But she wouldn't tolerate it anymore.

She was just finishing up a shift at the hospital when she finally lost her patience. Sakura's patient was a young hunter who had been gravely injured in the most recent vampire attack. He had deep gashes in his left arm and his chest. His arm had taken the brunt of the attack cutting the flesh all the way down to the bone. He had nearly bled to death before making it to the hospital. Luckily, it looks like he would survive even if he would have some tough rehab ahead of him.

"Poor thing, I'm glad he's going to be alright," Sakura said as she left the patient's room. Someone snorted rudely behind her and she turned around to see one of the other nurses glaring at her with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her name was Megumi. She was a few years older than Sakura with long dark brown hair. Sakura only knew her as a coworker but she had seemed relatively friendly up until now.

"That's rich coming from you," the other girl sneered.

Sakura was confused. "Why wouldn't I care about a patient?"

"How can you pretend to care about these people when you're fraternizing with the enemy?!"

Sakura was beginning to understand why this girl was seemingly mad at her for no reason. And she wouldn't stand for it. "Sasuke isn't an enemy. He had nothing to do with this. He would never hurt an innocent person."

"That's a lie!" Megumi yelled, attracting the attention of some of the other nurses on duty. "The very existences of monsters like him are what causes innocent people to be hurt and killed. He killed my father when he showed his true colors the night he ran away!"

Now Sakura was getting mad. "That wasn't his fault!"

Megumi laughed bitterly, "How can stand there and say that? He even attacked you. You sound like a girl with an abusive boyfriend. That rabid animal beat your skull in but you eagerly open your legs for him as soon as he comes back."

Normally, Sakura would feel bad for Megumi; it was difficult to lose family. But she wouldn't stand for her placing all the blame on Sasuke. What had happened that night was tragic and she knew that Sasuke felt horrible for what had happened.

"You have the gal to stand here, pretending to care for these people when at night you go home and cater to a monster. It would be better if they were all whipped out. It's good that the thing you were carrying died before it could cause any damage," she shouted.

That was the last straw.

Before the other nurse could react, Sakura had thrown a bone breaking punch to her face. The devastating blow knocked her back into the wall and she had to quickly raise her hands to defend herself from Sakura's assault. Between Sakura's blows she managed to return the attack with a few of her own.

Sakura was pissed. One punch wasn't enough to express how furious she was at her coworker. They exchanged blows and it was clear that Sakura was a much better combatant.

Too soon for Sakura's liking she felt arms wrap around her, pulling her away from the bleeding girl. She fought the people who were restraining her but they kept a tight hold on her not allowing her to escape. There was murmuring and some shouting in the hall but it was all white noise for Sakura. She vaguely heard someone tell her that she was getting sent to the head of the hospital for repercussions. But she didn't care. That girl deserved everything that she got.

While Sakura was being led away the other girl swayed unsteadily on her feet and clutched her bruised and bloodied face. "You're just as barbaric as that thing you call a boyfriend," the injured girl screamed at her. Sakura was about to turn around and yell back but a firm grip on her arm kept her in place. Sakura continued to stew in her rage as she was marched into the office.

She was left alone to wait in the office by herself until they were ready to deal with her. It was extremely rare that they had an internal case involving assault. There might be an occasional crazy patient that tried to swing at a nurse, but it was never two workers fighting.

Sakura knew that she was in trouble and also at risk of losing her job. But even with the severe consequences looming before her she didn't regret throwing the first punch.

When the door opened and quickly slammed again Sakura flinched. She didn't look up when Tsunade sat down at her desk and leafed through the incident report that she brought with her.

"Assaulting a coworker. Minor injuries acquired," Tsunade began to read bits of the report out loud.

"I was provoked," Sakura argued, she knew it was a lame excuse but she couldn't help but try to defend her actions.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and paused her assessment. "So tell me what happened."

Sakura told her aunt about how the other girl was talking shit about her and Sasuke. Even reenacting the event made Sakura's fist shake in anger.

Tsunade frowned as she began to understand why Sakura reacted the way she did. When she was first informed about the incident she was stunned. While she knew that Sakura had a temper, she also had very good self-control. But now that she was hearing Sakura's side of the story it wasn't a big surprise that the other girl walked away bloodied and bruised.

"While I don't blame you for what happened I still need to punish you accordingly. If I don't they're going to accuse me of favoritism." Tsunade would have probably done the same thing if she were in Sakura's shoes, but unfortunately it happened during work hours and she had to treat her niece like any other employee.

"As much as that other girl deserved it, I'm going to have to suspend you," Tsunade said while massaging the bridge of her nose.

Sakura sighed and hung her head. She knew that she would be punished but that didn't make it any less upsetting. "For how long?"

"A few weeks. But that doesn't mean you're off the hook," Tsunade began to explain, "Since you're now free of your hospital duties you can put in more time at the organization.

Sakura went from docile to alert. "What do you need me to do?" It felt like just the other day she was on light duty but now she was ready to get back into the heat of things.

Tsunade pulled out a different folder from her bag. It was stuffed with multiple papers and files, all the information that they had been gathering so far. Looking at the tattered folder and the bent corners, Sakura could tell that these papers have been looked over many times. "I want you to help me analyze the reports we've received within the last month. I have a feeling that things are about to get really bad. The vampire numbers have been increasing substantially and so have the number of attacks. There has also been an increase in disappearances."

They had been struggling to keep up with the vampire attacks and if they continued to sit there and allow the enemy to make all the moves they would definitely lose.

"Maybe fresh eyes will see something that I've missed. We can't afford to remain stagnant any longer." Tsunade said.

Sakura gripped the folder tightly. She had only been thinking about herself recently and completely ignored the war that had been steadily approaching. Now was the time to put all personal issues behind and focus on the danger ahead.

* * *

After she left the hospital she went straight home and began sifting through the papers her aunt had given her. It was mostly a bunch of separate mission reports that seamed unrelated to one another. But by looking at the dates the events were happening more frequently than before.

She ran her hands through her hair frustrated, it was a lot of notes that didn't hold much useful information. The attacks seemed scattered, there was no real pattern to it.

She was so focused on trying to come up with some kind of retaliation plan that she didn't hear the door open.

"You're home early." Sakura jumped when Sasuke came up behind her. He leaned on the table and looked over her shoulder at the mess of papers cluttering the table.

"I got into a little bit of trouble," Sakura said. She began to straighten some of the papers to prolong her answer. "I'm suspended."

Sasuke was shocked. For as long as he could remember Sakura never got into trouble. Of course there was always the small slap on the wrist now and then but never something as huge as a suspension. "What did you do?" he asked.

"I got into a fight with one of the other nurses. A fist fight not just a verbal one," Sakura was ashamed to admit.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. Sakura had a temper but it was pretty well controlled and normally it was only Naurto who saw the hard end of her fist. He knew there must have been more to her story but he refrained from asking. If she wanted to tell him she would. "So what are you working on?"

Sakura's pushed her shame aside and began to explain. "Tsunade wants to take action against the vampires but she's unsure where to strike. I'm going through all the data we've been able together to hopefully develop a strategy."

Sasuke pulled out a chair and sat next to her. He grasped the closest stack of papers and began to leaf through them. After going through most of the notes the only thing they could conclude was that there was a large number of people going missing in the last few days than the past month. Sasuke mentioned that when he had encountered vampires in the past they had been recruiting people who were desperate for a change in their life.

"But look at some of these missing people," Sakura pointed out, "A lot of them don't seem like the kind that are desperate enough to follow some sketchy character into a dark ally." Some of the people missing were shop owners, people with families, students who had just finished college, and similar others. None of which seemed to be unhappy with their lives. "And there is even an increase in children disappearances. What would they want with children?"

"This is very concerning, but we still don't have any idea where to strike," Sasuke said. "I know this is supposed to be confidential but can we show this to my brother? He's been keeping an eye out for any strange activity and maybe he saw something that the guys who's been doing these reports did."

"Sure. I felt like it's been a while since I saw him anyway," Sakura agreed.

After a simple call Itachi arrived at their home shortly after. Sakura greeted him with a quick hug before they went back to work. They sat around the table messily covered with papers and caught him up on what they had discovered so far. Sasuke could practically see the gears turning in his brother's head.

Once their explanation was complete Itachi pulled a pile of missing persons to him. After flipping through the pages, he pulled out a few of them and placed them on the side. Sakura desperately wanted to ask him what he was doing but she held her tongue, to wanting to disrupt his concentration.

When he was done Itachi picked up the much smaller pile and spread them out. There were only five pages that really stood out to him. "I remember seeing these people," he said.

"Where?!" Sasuke jumped to his feet.

"They were all in a different part of town but when I saw them they were with one or two possible vampires," Itachi recalled.

"Possible? You couldn't tell?" Sasuke asked. Vampires had a rather distinct musty smell. It was hard to tell the difference between normal humans and vampires just by looking at them. But their smell is what made them easy to distinguish to those with a heightened sense of smell.

Itachi shook his head. "It was confusing. I was sure they were vampires but they were out during the day."

That was a new discovery. But it also shouldn't have been much of a surprise since they had already confirmed that they were working with Orochimaru.

"It's not impossible," Sakura said. "Were they doing anything strange when you saw them?"

"Not really. Two of the missing people seemed very nervous when talking with them. The others seemed comfortable, almost confident. If they're using their old methods then they're getting these people on their own by bribing them with something," Itachi said.

But that didn't explain why there were missing children. If they were still collecting adults just fine why would they also start taking in children. When a vampire turns someone, their aging is slowed down immensely. What would be the point in creating child vampires?

"I followed one of them to the older part of town." Itachi pointed to the right side of the map. That part of town consisted of much older buildings that weren't as busy as the newly developed middle and left side of town. "They entered a three-story building here and I didn't follow them any farther. There were other people moving in and out the building so maybe it's some kind of cover."

"That sounds like a good place to check out. At least we have a better lead now." Sakura was very grateful for Itachi. If it wasn't for him they would still be running in circles without any direction. "We can send an assault team to check out the building. They wouldn't have been able to move the entire coven into that spot yet so hopefully we can take out a large number of their resources."

They still had eyes on the outskirts of town where they had found the tunnels. As far as they knew the majority of the vampires were still outside the city.

"Are you going to be coming with is?" Sasuke asked his brother.

Itachi shook his head. "No, I don't think the hunters will be too keen about me suddenly showing up. But I'll be near incase anything goes wrong."

"We can just tell them that you're on our side," Sakura argued, "I'm sure that they would appreciate all the help we can get."

"Not everyone is as accepting as you are," Itachi smiled at her. He truly believed Sakura to be something special. She was open and unprejudiced against any species or person. For what seemed like the hundredth time he thought that his brother was lucky to have found her.

Sakura pouted. He was right. They would probably freak out if Itachi just showed up. Most of them barely tolerated Sasuke.

"Be careful. We don't know what they're hiding in that building," Itachi warned them. He would feel better if he could go with them but they already established that his presence would cause more harm than good.

They had been on the defensive for long enough. It was time for them to finally strike back at their foe.

* * *

When Sakura explained what they found to Tsunade she made sure to leave Itachi out of it. Even if she was convinced that her aunt wouldn't care, Itachi preferred to remain unknown. While she spoke with Tsunade, Sasuke and Itachi went back to take a better look at their target location. They wanted to stake out the building during the day just to give them an idea of the number of civilians if any were around and what the general area looked like.

The building Itachi showed them turned out to be a rundown apartment complex. There was some people moving in and out but it didn't look very busy. How were the vampires working out of a place that people frequented? It was going to be difficult to fight without getting innocent people involved, but this was their only lead.

It only took a day for Tsunade to round up a group to raid the building in question. The group was rather large consisting of about 20 people. It would be hard to not to draw attention to themselves with such a large group all armed with knives and guns but they didn't want to be unprepared. There were also more groups waiting in nearby locations that would act as backup as needed.

Sasuke and Sakura, along with all their friends, were in the first group. Many of them were anxious, this could give them an advantage over the vampires or it could go very wrong and many people could get hurt or even lose their lives. There was no room for error.

They began to move in around two in the morning. They wanted to make sure that the rest of the residence of the building were asleep. They managed to break the lock on the front door without raising any alarm.

Everyone spread around the open area of the entrance looking for any kind of clue to give them an idea what the vampires were doing here.

"This is stupid. There's nothing here," one of the men grumbled. More murmurs of frustration began springing up around the group.

"Shut up," Kiba hissed. Just because they couldn't find anything doesn't mean that they should let their guard down. They stifled their grumbles and continued to search.

"Can you smell anything?" Sakura asked looking toward Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke had opted to stay in human form for the beginning of their raid just in case they came across any civilians.

"There's definitely a weird smell here," Naruto sniffed, "But I can't really pin point where it's coming from."

Sasuke took that as his que. He transformed making the other hunters next to him jump. Some of them backed away quickly while others gripped their weapons. Sasuke ignored their reactions and focused his attention on locating a scent trail. He also didn't notice how his friends glared at the other jumpy hunters. Sasuke claimed to not care about what people thought about him, but his friends were much less tolerant. There were many occasions were Naruto would cause a fuss but it normally didn't end well since the 'demon' was not very welcome amongst their ranks either.

Sasuke lifted his head and began to sniff the air. The vampires scent was covered by the hunters and the other humans that frequent the building but it was still traceable. Locking onto the scent he slowly began to follow it down the hall.

His ears were perked trying to catch any sound that might indicate that their enemy was aware of them. Finally, he tracked the scent trail to the last door. He huffed and tilted his head toward the door, telling the others that the scent was coming from behind the door.

Shikamaru stepped up and tried to pick the lock on the door. Just waiting on some menial task was nerve racking. If anyone, vampire or human, were to show up they would have no place to hide. After a few nail biting seconds, they heard the tumblers move and the lock open. The deadbolt was just as easily disarmed.

"Fuck," Shikamaru cursed. When he tried to open the door it only cracked open a fraction before it was stopped by two chains that were latched on the inside.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Lee gave the door a forceful kick. The settings of the chains broke and the door was slammed open.

"Idiot! We're supposed to be keeping a low profile, not wake the entire building," Tenten hissed at him.

"We're also exposed just standing in the hall," Lee tried to explain.

While the two of them bickered the rest of them filled into the room. It looked like an ordinary apartment with the minimal necessities and furniture. It consisted of a small kitchen, living space, and two rooms. They began to search for anything that would point them in the right direction.

"There's nothing here," one of the men declared after not being able to find anything that was out of place.

"There's got to be something. We're just not looking hard enough," another said.

After being unsuccessful herself, Sakura turned toward Sasuke. They may not be able to see anything suspicious but hopefully Sasuke could smell something.

And she was partially right. Sasuke was trying to pinpoint where the strongest scent of vampire was coming from, but it was harder than he initially expected. Besides just the scent of the party here there was a residual smell of all the other people that had passed through here before. If anything, that proved that there was something going on in this room. If it belonged to one person or family then it would only have a few additional scents, but this apartment was carried the scent of many different people.

After wandering from room to room with his nose hovering close to the ground he stopped in front of a closed door in the bedroom. Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see Sakura behind him. He pawed at the door, signaling her to open it. Sakura nodded and complied to his request. The open door lead them into an empty walk in closet. It was very spacious, with enough room for both her and Sasuke to stand in without crowding each other.

Sakura tilted her head in confusion. This couldn't be right. She stepped inside and began checking the empty shelves. There had to be a reason for Sasuke to point out this room.

"Did you find anything?" Naruto asked and poked his head in.

Sakura stopped her search and turned her head toward him, "No not yet. But Sasuke thinks there's something in this closet." Naruto nodded and stepped forward to help her search.

After a couple steps in Sakura's eyes widened, "Stop!"

Naruto instantly froze midstep. "What?"

"Did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Even Sasuke swiveled his ears trying to pick up the noise Sakura was talking about.

Sakura moved next to him. "When you took a step it made a different sound," Sakura explained. She crouched down and began tapping on the floor in different locations with her knuckles.

Naruto didn't really understand what his friend was up to. So, what if this guy had a squeaky floor board. But then he heard it.

When Sakura tapped the ground for a fifth time it made a different sound. It wasn't a creek like Naruto suspected but a lighter sound. A hollow sound. He kneeled down next to her and began examining the floor with her.

After crawling around on the floor Sakura found a lose board along the side wall that lifted up. Beneath the board was a metal ring. With Naruto's help they pulled on the heavy ring that turned out to be attached to a chain. Their tugging pulled up a panel of boards to reveal a hidden passage way. It was a flight of stairs that moved farther underground.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

With the hidden stairs found, the group's moral began to rise. It finally began to look like they found something worth wile, that the night wasn't wasted. They prepped their weapons ad began their descent. The stairs was completely dark but they could see a dim light near the bottom. Sasuke went first since he would be the first to hear if anyone was approaching them.

"This is kind of creepy," Ino noted as the rest of them began to descend. Secret passage, dark corners, and dim flickering lights. Creepy was the best adjective to describe their current location.

"What do you think they use this for?" Kiba asked. The same question was on a lot of their minds.

"We can't be sure, just be prepared for anything," Neji instructed.

When the stairs evened out they were left in a bare hallway. There were no windows, no doors, just a string of faulty lights along the wall near the ceiling. With no other options they could only move forward.

Eventually they came to a split in the hall. Both passageways looked the same and neither were inviting. Sasuke couldn't tell which one was correct, they both smelt the same. Unsure which way to go they chose to split up. It probably wasn't the safest option but they didn't have many choices.

"Make sure everyone has a mic," Neji said. Each of them had a com device for cases just like this. When everyone was ready and the group evenly split they went their separate ways. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru went down the left corridor with four other hunters, and the others went to the right.

They walked swiftly down the hall, everyone on high alert. After about a minute they came across multiple doors. Chouji walked up to the closest one and tried to open it. "It's locked."

"We don't have time to search them all," Sakura said. While they began talking Sasuke began to pick up a new scent. It wasn't exactly a vampire smell but it wasn't human either. He nudged Naruto who was closest to him and began tracking the scent.

The scents lead them to a seemingly random door amongst all the others. Sasuke could hear shuffling noises and soft cries behind the door.

"This one?" Naruto asked. By now the others had caught up to them. Each had a weapon in hand. They couldn't tell what lay beyond the door. Sasuke nodded and moved aside.

Together Chouji and Naruto were able to force the door open after throwing their bodies against it a few times. Once the door slammed open the rest of them flooded in and were shocked at what they saw.

Half the room was barred off and on the other side there were children. They were all dressed in ragged clothes and were curled up on the ground. Some were sitting up and hugging their knees while others were just lying on the hard cement. The youngest looked to be only four and the oldest hardly pushing twelve.

"What is this?" Ino asked horrified. They apparently had just stumbled upon the missing children. But it was strange. Rather than being happy to see their saviors, they just sat there. Some glanced at them but most didn't even flinch when the door had burst open.

Looking closer they could see each child had an iv inserted into their arm. The implications were pretty clear.

"They were experimenting on these kids," one of the hunters growled.

"We have to get them out," Sakura said. She swung her crossbow over her shoulder and walked up to the bars. "Don't worry we're going to get you out of here."

Most of them ignored her but a few of them acknowledged their presence. A young girl lifted her head at the sound of Sakura's voice. Her face was pale and sunken like many of the other children's. But instead of rejoicing at the thought of freedom, the young girl threw herself against the bars.

Sakura jumped backwards and lost her footing, forcing her to scramble backwards from the gruesome scene before her. What she had thought had been a fearful child had suddenly become a monster. The little girl had her body pressed against the bars with flailing hands outstretched trying to claw at her. She growled at them, her teeth gnashing together furiously with flecks of spit flying from her mouth. A few other children mimicked her movements and lurched forward trying to claw at them. The rest of the children drew back fearfully and huddled against the far wall. A few of them began to silently cry, they stifled their sobs trying not to make any noise that would draw the attention of their crazed peers.

As the other children moved away a few of them remained still. Much too still. On the floor of the cell, originally hidden by the others, were a couple children that were dead. Mauled by their peers or unable to handle the experiments casted on them, it was unclear.

"Those poor kids," Ino whimpered. They were torn between fear and feeling bad for the innocent children that were reduced to husks of what they used to be.

"We have to rescue them," Sakura said. Her eyes were fixated on the kids that where cowering in the back of the cell.

"Are you insane!?" one of the other hunters yelled, "Look at them, they're nothing but a menace, a danger to us all." He was more concerned about the savage creatures that were still fighting to escape their prison than the children that were most likely kidnapped and tortured.

"These are innocent kids. They have families who are still looking for them. Maybe we can take them with us and we can try to revert whatever was done to them," Sakura argued. She wanted to help them. Something needed to be done.

"How do you expect to do that? Look at them. They care about nothing more than tearing out our throats." The same hunter spoke up against them. "There's only one thing we can do for them." He cocked his gun.

"No! There has to be another way. We can't just kill them, they deserve a chance to live!" Sakura was furious. She knew that many of the people in the organization were rather cold blooded but this was taking it to a whole new level. These were innocent lives that he was talking about. These children didn't ask to get stolen from their loved ones to be experimented on.

"Look at them, there's no hope," the man's voice was stern. The wild children hadn't given up their attack yet and the chaos was starting to spread. Some of the children in the back began fidgeting and shoving each other causing more fighting to breakout in the cage. "They're not children anymore."

There was nothing more Sakura could say. The children were no longer human. There was no way to save them. She and Ino looked away as the order was given to execute them. Sakura shut her eyes tight as she tried to block out the sounds of gun shots and the screams from the things that were once children that were being gunned down. She felt Sasuke press against her side to comfort her and Naruto place a hand on her shoulder. Their presence comforted her but it didn't take the grief away.

When the sounds died out Sakura couldn't stop herself from looking at the damage they caused. The bodies of the children were now broken and bloodied. Bullet holes riddled the bodies and blood began seeping toward them. A tiny boy stirred and whimpered, he had multiple wounds but still clung to life. He stared up at them his eyes wide and fearful.

One of the other men raised his weapon to finish off the boy. "Wait!" Sakura cried. The worse of the children were dead but maybe this boy could survive. She could see it in his eyes. It lacked the crazed blank look of the others, there was still hope for him.

"We don't know anything about these experiments. He may be fine now but who's to say he will stay that way. What if he becomes like those others in transport? I'm not willing to risk our lives for that thing," the man was frustrated with Sakura's desire to save the children. His main concern was getting the party through this mission safely. It was sad what happened to these kids, but they were beyond help.

They continued to argue but they were soon interrupted by distant shouting. The gun shots must have alerted the vampires. They were forced to flee, and forced to leave the boy behind. There was no longer any time to waste if they lingered there they would be cornered and probably killed. It broke Sakura's heart to leave him behind. She forced herself to look away. Away from the frightened eyes that begged for her help.

The voices were coming from the direction they came from forcing them to try to find an alternative exit. They gave up stealth and sprinted through the halls looking for a way out. Rounding a corner, they ran into patrol of five vampires.

Luckily for them they seemed to have caught them by surprise and easily dispatched them. But now the voices and pounding footsteps were getting louder. If they didn't find an exit soon they would be dead. They had no choice but to run. They blindly ran down the corridor and prayed that they were headed towards an exit. Their luck held when they threw open the door at the end of the hall and were met with the cool night air. They ended up coming out of a different building than they came in. It seemed that the buildings were connected by the underground passageways. They continued to run putting more space between them and the buildings. They headed back to where they hid their vehicles, but stayed closer to the forest. It would be easier to move unseen in the cover of the forest rather than getting suck out in the open between the buildings.

During their escape Shikamaru had called for a retreat over the radio. Hopefully the other group got out on time. The second group hadn't seen any vampires and began searching for an exit as soon as they got the message. They agreed to meet up in the forest near where the vehicles were parked; there was a small clearing there.

After putting enough space between them and the buildings where the vampire's lair was hidden they slowed their pace to a walk.

"This is all your fault," one of the other hunters growled. Sakura was surprised to see him glaring at her.

"What!? How is this my fault?" How dare he place the blame on her.

"If you didn't dawdle back there we could have gotten in and out without being noticed," he shouted. "We're lucky no one got killed! Getting caught in there would mean instant death!" They were all out of breath and a few of them had scrapes and bruises from their small tussle in the hall, but overall they were fine. But he did have a point things could have turned out a lot worse than it had.

"The vampires finding us had nothing to do with me! If anything it was your fault!" Sakura argued. "What do you think drew their attention in the first place? Those guns aren't exactly quiet."

Sakura wasn't the only one that was pissed. All her friends were also upset and shocked at how this man was singling out Sakura. No one felt right about killing those kids but it was Sakura that spoke up the loudest. But in no way was this her fault.

"Just because you couldn't have your own little monster doesn't mean that we should endanger our lives for them," the man scoffed at her.

Sakura gasped, shocked into silence.

It was a good thing that Naruto and Shikamaru reacted fast enough to stop Sasuke from attacking the man that was mouthing off to them. When his heartless comment fell from his lips Sasuke immediately lunged at him, only to have his friends wrap their arms around him to stop him from doing anything he may regret later.

Sasuke was growling so loudly that he couldn't even hear Ino screaming profanities at the man. But their internal struggle was put to a stop when a howl pierced the air. Sasuke stopped struggling against his friends and perked his ears to listen.

"Are there more of you out here?!" the man pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. "We're having enough trouble with the vampires. We can't handle wolves on top of that." He was worried and scared.

But before they could even explain the bushes around them began to rustle. Their loud arguing had attracted the vampires from the hideout. Without giving them time to defend themselves the vampires flew towards them.

A bloody battle broke out and pained screams echoed loudly in the night. Within minutes, both sides sustained major injuries and one hunter lay dead.

Sakura swung her knife and sliced open the arm of a vampire that reached for her. It was a thin pale woman with long nails that were already tipped with blood from a previous clash. She let out a horrible shriek as black blood spurted from her arm. But it didn't stop her from attacking. With one arm limp she continued to claw at Sakura.

But incapacitated the woman was easy for Sakura to defeat. With a few more slashes of her knife the woman was scampering away holding cradling her injured arms the best she could. Sakura didn't have a chance to revel in her victory before a strong blow connected with the side of her head. She crashed to the ground and groaned. Stars danced before her eyes as she tried to ignore the exploding pain in her skull and regain her bearings.

Sakura gasped as she was yanked to her feet and slammed into a nearby tree trunk. Another vampire, male this time, held her by the neck and kept her pinned against the bark.

"That wasn't nice what you did to her," he said softly to her. "Perhaps I should return the favor." His gripped tightened on her neck squeezing off her air supply. Sakura struggled and clawed desperately at the vampires hand to try to loosen his grip. The vampire chuckled at her futile attempt. "But I really don't want to mar this pretty face of yours. What to do?"

He leaned forward and licked her cheek. With her back to the tree Sakura was unable to squirm away. The vampire hummed and licked his lips. He leaned in again but this time opened his mouth to reveal overly large canines.

* * *

When the fighting started Sasuke threw himself that the closest vampire. His opponent was broad, probably the largest in the group. The two of them clashed, fangs and claws flashing dangerously. He felt claws raking his side but he ignored it and fought on. After tumbling across the ground Sasuke finally managed to get is jaws around the vampire's shoulder. The vampire reached for his head and clawed at his face leaving four deep gouges in his flesh. In retaliation Sasuke bit down harder until he felt bone crack beneath his teeth. When the vampire screamed in pain Sasuke quickly adjusted his bite to his neck and silenced the screams.

He dropped his prey and scoped out the next one. Naruto was busy fighting two vampires at once and Sasuke quickly went over to help him. He pounced on the back of one of the vampires and quickly ended his life. Now that he wasn't outnumbered Naruto was able to kill the remaining vampire.

"I could have handled it," Naruto panted. Sasuke could tell by Naruto's grin that he was glad for his help even if he was saying he didn't.

More vampires began to appear, they didn't have time to joke around any farther.

Sasuke's heart stopped when his eyes landed on Sakura pinned to a tree. He ran toward her but his path was blocked by another vampire forcing him to stop. In the second that he paused, he was knocked off his feet by another vampire that plowed into his side. He wrestled on the ground with the vampire. His snapping jaws just missing his attacker's head. Then the first vampire joined the fray. He managed to wrap his arms around Sasuke's neck.

The two vampires were much stronger than Sasuke had expected. He struggled to free himself, but the strong arms around him refused to budge. His movements became desperate; he trashed wildly trying to shake his captors with little success. Sakura was in grave danger and she needed him. Sasuke could feel his body heating up and his vision filled with red.

* * *

Sakura kicked out at the vampire that had her pinned. But even her best attempts were easily ignored. When the vampire leaned in closer she shut her eyes tight, not wanting to see the fangs getting closer to her neck.

But a loud rumbling roar made the guy holding her pause to look over his shoulder. Sakura opened her eyes and felt her blood run cold.

She saw two bodies fly through the air and a large creature throw his head back in another roar. Her eyes widened as she began to recognize the creature before her. She had only seen Sasuke take on this form once before, but once was enough. The vampire dropped her and faced the huge wolf that looked like it came straight out a horror movie.

Sasuke pounced on the closest vampire and easily crushed the body beneath his paws. Three more vampires threw themselves at him but he easily shook them off. One of them managed to cling onto his back, but it proved to be a fatal mistake. He reached around and tore the offender from his back, without wasting a breath he tore out the vampire's throat, leaving practically nothing remaining of the neck and a huge hole in his chest.

The rest of the vampire abandoned their fight with the hunters. Some of them charged recklessly at Sasuke while others escaped back into the dark.

Naruto had run over to Sakura when the vampires had their attention focused on Sasuke. "What do we do?" he asked her. His voice shook. He was scared too.

Sakura couldn't answer him. She watched wide-eyed as Sasuke tore apart their enemy. But did he know that the vampires were the 'enemy'. Could he tell the difference between friend and foe while in this form? They didn't know anything about Sasuke when he was like this. Would they be able to stop him if it came down to it?

Sasuke held the body of the last vampire in his jaws and bit down hard, crunching her spine. He dropped the body with a sickening thud. His shoulders heaved from the heavy breaths he was drawing. No one moved. They froze when Sasuke's eyes began to wander over each of them. Which one would be next?

When his eyes landed on the hunter that had been fighting with Sakura all night the man panicked and raised his gun and took a wild shot. He missed the bullet flew past Sasuke's ear. Now Sasuke's attention was focused on the man.

The frightened hunter whimpered fearfully and tried to shot him again. But it was useless with his hands shaking so hard it was impossible to get a clear shot. Sasuke was ready and easily dodged the wayward bullet. He growled and bared his fangs and crept toward the man who had tears falling from his eyes.

Sakura couldn't let him hurt anyone else. That man might have been an asshole to her but he was still an ally to them. "Stop!" Sakura shouted and ran towards them.

Sasuke immediately whipped his head to her and growled, he began walking towards her instead and she froze. She hadn't had a plan when she called out to him; she just needed to stop him from harming anyone. But how?

"Sakura!" Naruto jumped in front of her his eyes glowing red. It had taken most of his power to stop Sasuke last time and he still needed the other's help to do it. But he could still hold him off before he hurt Sakura. He didn't want to see either of his friends fall apart again.

Sasuke lost interest in Sakura and ran at Naruto. Naruto braced himself for a fight; this was going to be much harder than fighting off a group of vampires.

But before Naruto had to transform to protect himself and Sakura something else knocked Sasuke away from them.

Everyone watched, flabbergasted, as two wolves began fighting before them. Sakura never saw what Itachi looked like in wolf form but she just knew that it was him. He and Sasuke's normal form looked identical except Itachi's fur was a shade lighter than Sasuke's.

* * *

Itachi would have much preferred to never reveal himself. While Sasuke may have been used to working with these hunters Itachi wasn't. But when he witnessed Sasuke lose control he knew that he had no choice but to step in.

Bursting from his hiding place Itachi knocked Sasuke away from Sakura and the other boy. He sunk his fangs into the skin on Sasuke's back and tried to pull him away from all the humans. But he only got a few steps before Sasuke turned and swiped at him. Itachi had to duck as Sasuke's claws flew over his head. With Sasuke's reach overextended Itachi head-butted him in the stomach then retreated to a safe distance. Sasuke grunted winded and stumbled to regain his balance. It only took him a second to recover and charge towards his brother with jaws snapping furiously.

Itachi tried to keep Sasuke engaged and distracted while slowly luring him away from the humans. It wasn't an easy task. Any slip up could lead to major injury at the very least.

Itachi flinched when a bullet grazed his front leg. It looked like the man Sasuke had frightened had regained a shred of courage was firing at both of them. What a fool.

He watched as one of the younger hunters ran over to the man and tried to wrestle the rifle away from him. He could smell the fear coming off him in waves from the man. It pretty much put a large red target on him for any predator, like Sasuke.

People did stupid desperate things when they're scared and drawing attention to yourself in a dangerous situation was not a good idea.

Sasuke watched to two men fight and left his back exposed to Itachi for a second too long. He roared when Itachi's fangs sunk deeply into his shoulder. He reached up and tore the wolf from his back and slammed him into the ground.

Itachi didn't expect his brother to have such enormous strength. The force of the impact left him stunned and immobilized.

But before Sasuke could land a fatal blow flash bombs went off around them. Sasuke stumbled back, shaking his head to clear it of the dots that filled his vision. The second group of hunters had just arrived.

Itachi took this opportunity to escape back into the forest. Now that there were even more hunters it was extremely dangerous for him to stick around. He hoped that a fleeing opponent would be enough to cause Sasuke to chase after him and away from the hunters.

But it wasn't.

Sasuke stayed where he was and glared at the humans that attacked him. They all raised their weapons and waited for him to make a move. This was very familiar to what happened last time. And it didn't work. In this form Sasuke couldn't be gunned down. But what else could they do? If they stood there defenseless he would slaughter them all. The corpses of the vampires were enough to show them how strong he was.

Sakura didn't know what possessed her to run between Sasuke and a line of guns. But she wasn't defending her commands. She stood with her back to Sasuke with her arms spread wide, trying to shield him from the weapons he had pointed at him.

What she was doing was suicidal. She was exposing herself to a deadly creature. But she didn't want him to get attacked.

"Get out of the way!" someone shouted at her. But she didn't move. Attacking Sasuke would only make things worse. She knew what Itachi had been trying to do and luring him away from everyone was their best option. But if they kept fighting him he would never leave.

Until they were all dead.

Suddenly, people began shouting things at her but she couldn't decipher what they were saying with all the voices overlapping one another. She winced when a bullet grazed her cheek and a warm stream of blood flowed down her face.

She screamed when she felt her feet leave the ground. Sasuke had grasped the back of her shirt in his teeth. Sakura cried out in fear when Sasuke scooped her up off the ground and leaped over the hunters that had been shooting at them. He landed behind them and knocked three men away with a swing of his arm. More shots were fired as Sasuke took off into the darkness of the forest.

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I lost half of this chapter and I didn't really want to write it again…I'm struggling to find the inspiration to write and I feel bad for making you all wait so long. I am not leaving this story unfinished!


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Sakura shut her eyes and raised her hands to protect her face from the sticks and leaves that whipped by as the monster that used to be Sasuke carried her through the forest. She was scared but didn't fight back. It was safer to let him drag her to where ever he was headed then for her to try and escape; which would probably end with her dead. When she was first taken, she had dropped her weapons and was only left with a knife that was holstered at her hip.

Sakura let out a yelp when she was dropped to the ground. Without getting up, she quickly scrambled to face Sasuke. The wolf growled at her, his gaze fixated on her face. Sakura pulled out her knife and held it defensively in front of her. As soon as she drew her weapon Sasuke's growl became and angry snarl and his lips rose to show off his dangerous fangs. Her hand's trembled. Her knife was a pathetic shield if Sasuke chose to attack her.

She always told everyone that she believed in Sasuke; that he wasn't a monster. He may seem frightening to others but she knew who he really was. But this form wasn't him. When he became this thing the Sasuke she knew became completely different.

She lowered her knife. There was nothing she could do. She didn't want to fight him and even if she did her knife was a poor choice of weapon to go against him. But to her surprise the wolf's growl softened. What was once a terrifying ferocious snarl had become a soft rumble.

Now that she looked more closely at him she could tell that he was no longer showing signs of aggression. His body was still tense but his fur wasn't bristling and his ears were alert not flattened against his skull. He was watching her in what looked like curiosity, just like she was doing to him.

They observed each other for a few tense moments. Whenever she would move the knife, even just a fraction of an inch, Sasuke's eyes would dart to them before going back to her face. He wasn't being aggressive, he was being cautious. It seemed like he would only attack if she struck first.

But why?

What caused the sudden change? Sakura was confused and terrified. Without knowing what caused him to calm down she didn't know what would shift his behavior back to what it had been earlier.

Sakura flinched when Sasuke leaned toward her. She cautiously crawled backwards. She moved painfully slowly, but she didn't want to startle him with any sudden movements. But he closed the distance she was trying to put between them with a single step.

Sasuke sniffed at her. His nose only inches away from her face. Sakura shut her eyes and whimpered when he lowered his head to smell her neck and chest. All it would take was a single bite and that would be the end of her. She never expected Sasuke's next action.

She jumped when she felt his nose rub the side of her neck. When she looked at him he was staring at her face. He tilted his head to the side and nudged her again. When she didn't react, he licked her neck.

That's when she realized what was happening. Sakura gasped and her hand flew to her neck. She gently ran he hands over the scar that Sasuke had left. Where he had just licked. She didn't know the internal makings of the mark, but somehow Sasuke knew what that meant. What that scar indicated for them.

The more she thought about it the more it made sense. When in this form Sasuke was more in tuned to the animal part of him and the human side was repressed. Some instinctual part of him knew that she was his mate.

Sakura almost laughed with relief when she reached her conclusion. Sasuke no matter what form still knew her. Every time he had transformed this way he had been constantly under attack. It only made sense for him to fight back, he was afraid, frightened, or in pain.

Sakura took that as a sign that he was okay with her presence. But as her hand got closer to him he recoiled and growled. His lips twitched but he didn't bare his fangs at her. It wasn't threatening, it was a warning.

But then suddenly he was on alert again. Sasuke ripped his face away from her hand and turned away from her. He growled loudly and the fur along his shoulders and back bristled. Sasuke's ears were swiveling back and forth, trying to catch the slightest whisper of sound. Something had set him off again and Sakura was too nervous to move.

There was an answering growl and Itachi emerged from the shadows around them. His eyes darted between Sasuke and Sakura, analyzing the scene. Sakura acted immediately before another fight broke out.

"Wait!" Sakura stood up and placed herself between the brothers.

Sasuke stepped around her made sure that she was partially obscured behind one of his legs. Itachi tensed and snapped his jaws at Sasuke's sudden movement. While any move Sasuke made while this close to Sakura was nerve wracking for Itachi. But Sakura knew exactly what was going on. Sasuke viewed Itachi as a threat and was trying to protect her. That's why he was trying to place himself in front of her.

"I'm fine. I don't think he's going to hurt me," Sakura said.

Itachi growled and shifted from foot to foot. Obviously, he did not agree. Before she could explain what she had discovered she felt Sasuke pick her up again. I was rather frightening to be dangling from Sasuke's teeth by only her clothes. Itachi tensed, ready to spring towards her. But with a frantic shake of her head and waving of her arms, he was forced to stop.

The last thing Itachi wanted was to leave Sakura in his care. But she seemed so sure that she was safe with Sasuke at the moment. His presence only seemed to make Sasuke more anxious which would do much more harm than good. He had no choice but to trust her. And trust him.

Sakura could only hope that Itachi wouldn't follow them. And she was praying that Naruto wasn't chasing them either. Last time, Naruto had intervened and saved her. But if he showed up now he would only make things worse. It seemed like the presence of anyone else put Sasuke on edge.

Sasuke must have decided that they had gone far enough and slowed to a walk. To Sakura's surprise he released her and she ended up cradled in his arms. Sakura felt like a child the way Sasuke was holding her gently to his chest. Looking around they must have reached some far corner of the forest. Sasuke took them close to the area where they fought the pair of manticore years ago. She could clearly see the side of the mountain hiding in the overgrown plants.

After placing her on the ground Sasuke raised his head to scent the air, making sure that no one had followed them. After he dubbed the area clear his attention turned back to Sakura. She hadn't moved from where Sasuke had placed her and had been watching him curiously. While she wasn't as afraid of him harming her she was still unsure how to act around him. There was still a chance that if she made the wrong move it might cause him to react unexpectedly and that could lead her to getting hurt or worse. It was a strange mixture of nervousness and anxiety.

Sasuke leaned toward her and sniffed at her similarly as to how she did earlier.

Then it hit her. When Sasuke became this thing, it brought out his basic instincts. That's how it made him so strong; it removed the natural limitations on his body and mind. That meant more strength, speed, and healing, but it would bury his consciousness deep beneath his wolf side. He would react like any animal would. All this time he had just been reacting to what was around him; lashing out when cornered or when under attack.

And that's why he hadn't attacked her yet. He recognized her scent. Even if he didn't know her, every particle of his very being must have been screaming to him what the scar on her neck meant. That mark was created by his baser instincts to claim his mate. The same part of him that this form was created from.

Sakura turned her head to the side and lifted her chin to expose her neck to him. A sign that she was being submissive and completely at his mercy. Sasuke responded by leaning in closer to inhale her scent. His nose grazed the side of her neck. It tickled but she forced herself to stay still. Her heart rate spiked when a low growl calmed when she recognized it as a content sound, not a threatening one.

As she suspected, somewhere deep down, Sasuke knew this scent and he recognized the mark. It was engraved into his heart. He licked the mark once and began to nuzzle her neck.

She slowly reached up and gently pressed her hand to the side of his face. Sasuke tensed a little at first, his muscled bunched as he prepared to spring away at any moment. Sakura slowly began to rub her hand along his cheek and down to his muzzle. Her touch calmed him down and she saw his body almost immediately relax.

Sakura smiled, tears wetting her eyes slightly. She knew that she was safe now. There was no danger. She reached up and began to stroke the side of his face. Sasuke let out a deep sigh and pressed the side of his face against hers while she continued to pet him.

"Everything is going to be okay now," Sakura said. She adjusted her hand and bought it under his head to scratch beneath his chin. Sasuke's rumble turned into a happy whimper and he lifted his head to encourage her.

Sakura almost began to laugh. The more she interacted with Sasuke, the more of his normal side began to show. Even his tail began to wag. She could see the tension leaving his body. The muscles that were tight were now relaxing and the fur was settling along his shoulders. Sasuke was calm now. There was no more reason to fight.

He pulled away from her and began to walk to the mountain side. Sakura watched him and jogged to catch up to him when he looked back at her. He was waiting for her to follow.

Sasuke led her to a small indent in the mountain. It was hardly 10 feet deep and the tips of Sasuke's ears could touch the ceiling. It was just enough to give them some cover. He turned around a few times before flopping onto the ground. Sakura sat down next to him and leaned against his body. In response, his body curled slightly around hers. They were both content now.

Sakura began to gently rub the spot between his ears making his tail thump on the ground next to her. Sasuke's eyes were fixed on the area surrounding the cave opening. He was still on the lookout for any intruders. But after a few minutes of total silence and Sakura's frequent stoking, his eyes began to droop.

"You can rest now," Sakura said. Her voice cause his eyes to blink open, only slightly more awake. Sasuke stopped surveying and looked at Sakura. She gazed lovingly back at him as he locked gazes with her. She wasn't sure if words mean anything to him while he's in this state. But he should be able to hear the kindness and serenity in her voice. As his eyes closed shut she knew that he understood her.

While Sasuke's breathing slowed as he drifted off to sleep, Sakura continued to run her hand through his fur on his head and down his neck. Her body was tired and would like nothing more than to sleep alongside Sasuke, but her mind was still wide awake.

What should she do now? How would he turn back? Sasuke rarely spoke about his transformation into this form and he never told her how he returned to normal. Sakura racked her brain trying to think of anything that Sasuke or even Itachi had mentioned. But nothing come to mind. She was so engrossed in her thoughts she jumped when Sasuke twitched. His whiskers wiggled and his paws twitched.

Watching him twitch made Sakura giggle. She never witnessed Sasuke dream while in wolf form. It was cute. Then she realized that Sasuke's paws and muzzle looked smaller. Turning around to look at the rest of his body she noticed that he didn't seem as large. His size more closely resembled his normal wolf form than his monstrous size from earlier.

He was slowly reverting back to his regular form. If she wasn't trying to wasn't trying to avoid waking him, Sakura would have laughed out loud.

Sleep. It was so simple. All he needed was to sleep it off. She knew that when Sasuke transformed his body would get a huge surge in adrenaline. A massive amount of adrenaline, whether caused by extreme stress or anger, would trigger his deadly transformation. But once he calms down and his adrenaline levels return to normal then ideally he should change back.

But was it really that simple? It seemed to be, as Sasuke returned to a more familiar form seemingly without any reason at all. It would be nice for something in her life to finally have a simple and easy explanation.

Sakura yawned and adjusted herself so she could lay down with her head resting on his shoulder. Exhaustion was finally catching up with her. They could figure out everything else in the morning.

* * *

When the sun began shining in the cave that was their resting place for the night the bright beams stirred Sasuke from his sleep. He was still exhausted even as he was just waking up. His body was sore and his joints ached. He clenched his eyes tighter as the sun began to shine on his face.

Then the events from last night came back to him. Sasuke's head shot up. His heart was beating rapidly in his throat and he began to hyperventilate. His memory was blotchy and he could only remember bits and pieces of what had occurred the night before. It was always like that after he went through his cursed transformation.

He froze when he felt something move against him. He didn't know if he should be relieved or confused as to why Sakura was sleeping next to him. After quickly looking over her form he concluded that she was fine. But how had she stayed by his side, assumingly all night, and come out unharmed?

Sasuke nosed her side to try to wake her up. He needed to know what exactly happened. Sakura grumbled and shifted away from him forcing Sasuke to be a bit more forceful. He nudged her face with his nose but when that didn't work either he nipped at her ear.

That finally woke her up. She swatted his nose before sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Good morning," she grumbled. Sasuke could hear the sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Are you okay?

Sasuke glared at her. That's what he wanted to know. Sakura could read the confusion and frustration in his eyes but they weren't really in a position to talk right now. "Let's go home. We can talk once we get out of the forest," Sakura said.

With a nod, Sasuke stood up slowly, his body was still stiff. He arched his back and stretched out his front legs making his joints pop. Once his muscles were a little warm he shook himself to rid his fur of the dirt and small debris that collected in it from sleeping on the ground. When he was ready he knelt down so Sakura could climb onto his back.

He was trying to hide it from her but he was nervous. This was the second time that he had transformed like that in front of Sakura and the first time had been more than traumatizing for the both of them. He dreaded a repeat of that horrible incident. But Sakura was acting like nothing was wrong and he was the one that was internally freaking out.

Sakura climbed onto his back easily and clung onto his scruff to keep from falling off. Once she was secure Sasuke started off in a slow pace. After looking around and gaining his bearings Sasuke began a slow jog through the forest.

When they got close civilization Sasuke reverted back to human form. His clothes were in tatters but at least he was mostly covered. When he looked over at Sakura there was a thousand things he wanted to say but he just couldn't. Before he could get any words out they were surrounded.

Hooded hunters emerged from the shadows to encircle them from all sides. Sasuke raised his hands in surrender but they never dropped their weapons.

"We are to take you to headquarters," one of the hooded hunters said. Sakura stepped closer to Sasuke, but neither of them argued. They followed their armed escort to be transported to the hunter's HQ. The two of them were silent all the way through.

When they arrived in the main hall all talking stopped. Sasuke was never comfortable being the center of attention and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up when all eyes around the room turned to look at him. He felt someone nudge him in the back and forced him in the direction of one of the side halls.

"Sakura!" They paused when someone called out to Sakura. Turning around they saw Ino running towards them. Unlike her normal pristine appearance, she looked disheveled and tired. Most likely from being up all night.

Their escort moved aside to let Sakura embrace Ino who was near panicking. Ino nearly knocked Sakura to the ground with the force of her hug.

"Are you okay?! You never answered when we were calling over coms. I was so worried!" Ino began to speak faster and faster. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. She was so worried that something happened to her best friend.

Sakura reached up to her ear to find that the ear piece wasn't there. It must have fallen out sometime during either the fight or the run through the forest. Keeping track of her gear was the last thing on her mind at the time.

"I'm sorry. I'm okay, really," Sakura responded to Ino's flurry as best she could but most of the questions went by too fast. While the girls drew comfort from one another Sasuke was motioned to continue down the hall.

When they started to move, Sakura wanted to follow Sasuke but at the same time she didn't want to leave Ino just yet.

"We'll catch up later," Sasuke said. Sakura frowned but she stayed where she was. Sasuke would be fine.

* * *

Sasuke was taken to Tsunade's office. It was rather expected. If she ordered him to be brought to her then he wouldn't be shot on sight. Sasuke was prepared for questions and angry accusations, but he wasn't prepared to find Tsunade having a cup of coffee with his brother. Well, his brother was having coffee there was a very high chance that the liquid in Tsunade's cup was alcoholic.

"Did you have a nice night?" Tsunade asked as she downed whatever was left in her cup before slamming it on the table.

Sasuke stood there still in shock. Three of his escort entered the room with him and closed the door behind them.

Tsunade continued even if Sasuke didn't answer, "Your brother is a gentleman you should learn a thing or two from him." Itachi chuckled and Sasuke glowered.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"I walked into the building and asked to see Ms. Senju. Said I was a bounty hunter looking for work and they sent me to her office," Itachi replied.

What the fuck?

Of all the crazy bullshit that made up Sasuke's life this was definitely one of the weirder things that has ever happened.

"That receptionist his getting fired before the day is over," Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Any way, back to a more serious matter. Your brother is now part of the organization as well."

Sasuke was still overwhelmed by what the two of them were telling him. Itachi was part of the hunters now? If they already don't like Sasuke they're not going to like Itachi any better.

"You three!" Tsunade shouted making everyone in the room, except for Itachi, jump. "Go inform the rest of the organization that this wolf is one of us now and is not to be harmed." She pointed at Itachi before waving off the three hunters that were still standing near the door. With startled glances at each other the three nodded and left the room. They could expect some backlash for this, another wolf in the organization. But Tsunade wasn't too worried.

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked. It seemed like he was hearing that question a lot lately.

"This is just a lot to take in. I'm glad that you can work out in the open with us now," Sasuke responded.

Itachi shook his head. "That's not what I meant. About last night. Do you know what happened?" Itachi was just as nervous as everyone else even if he was the only one to witness the beginning of what Sakura had discovered. Tsunade's interest was piqued as well. Everyone was curious as to what had transpired between him and Sakura

Sasuke hung his head. "I'm not sure. I don't remember much. But Sakura seems fine, she doesn't even seem worried. I never got a chance to talk to her about it yet."

They spoke for a while going over what their next moves are going to be and what Itachi and Sasuke could do for them. Everything was getting more intense and they seemed to be running out of time. They couldn't just leave the vampires to continue to run their inhumane experiments.

Tsunade agreed to give him a few days to figure out what was going on with his transformations. She really wanted him in the field but she needed to be able to make sure that he was physically and mentally stable.

Once they were done talking the three of them were going to head back to the main hall. Tsunade was sure she was going to have to face outrage of allowing another werewolf into the organization. Sasuke was focused on finding Sakura. Itachi was just kind of following the both of them, waiting to see how everything comes together.

When they got back to the main hall there was a lot more people there than there was previously. News spread quickly about Itachi and Sasuke and it seemed that they wanted to see the new wolf or they wanted to protest. Either way a large crowd wasn't a good sign.

Sasuke quickly picked out Sakura from the sea of people. She ran right up to them and threw her arms around him. "I heard that Tsunade accepted Itachi into the organization. I'm glad for both of you." It would make life a lot easier for them if Itachi didn't have to stay hidden.

"How can you be so trusting? Look what just happened," one of the by standards spoke up. Sakura recognized him as the same hunter that had given them so much trouble during the mission.

"Did anyone die?" Tsunade asked.

The man was taken aback. "No, there were injuries but to deaths."

"Then what are you complaining about. Everyone came back from that mission alive," Tsunade argued.

"We don't need any more monsters here. We have everything under control." At that point Tsunade lost her temper.

"Why do you think the vampires even came back in the first place?! They knew that we were vulnerable. We would have never been able to beat them without the wolves help last time. We've been struggling to get anything done and we've had numerous deaths within the past year!" Tsunade yelled. "We would be stupid to turn down their help. Can you take a squadron to attack the coven and guarantee me success?"

The man cowered before her. All eyes were focused on their enraged leader. Her words echoed throughout the hall attracting more attention. Her words were harsh but everything she said was true.

"No ma'am," the hunter bowed his head and slouched his shoulders.

"Do you care about the people in this city?" Tsunade asked. This seemed to catch the hunter off guard, leaving his speechless and staring wide eyed at her. "Do you?!"

"Yes! Of course," he answered.

"I'm doing what I think is best to provide everyone who lives here adequate protection. These people have done nothing to earn this much distrust and hatred," Tsunade sighed. She was tired of all the prejudice, foolishness, and ignorance of the people in her very own organization. "What happened to Sasuke was caused by a human that is no different from anyone here. What kind of horrible creatures are we that we think ourselves superior to others? That we have the right to experiment and alter those that are 'lower' than us. We are not god. We are all equal."

Her words penetrated deep into the minds and very souls of every person in the room.

"Now does anyone else have a problem with the wolves assisting us?" Tsunade asked. No one answered. "I better not hear of anyone acting out against them. If there is any problems or concerns about working alongside wolves, then you can come see me." With that Tsunde turned on her heel and marched out the door.

**A/N: Trying to get these chapters out quicker. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
**


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